Presidential Qualifications (JAG Format)

Inquiry into the qualifications to hold the office of the President or Vice-President of the United States of America in the case of John McCain, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Per the Constitution of the United States the legal requirements to become President of the United States are: "No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States." Source
2. Per the Constitution of the United States the legal requirements to become Vice-President of the United States are: "The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice–President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves;..." and further in the same amendment "But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice–President of the United States." Source
3. John McCain is from Arizona and was born in the Panama Canal Zone on 29 August 1936. Source
4. Sarah Palin is from Alaska and was born February 11, 1964, in Sandpoint Idaho. Source
5. Barack Obama is from Illinois and was born August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Source
6. Joe Biden is from Delaware and was born November 20, 1942; Scranton, Pennsylvania. Source

OPINIONS

1. That each candidate for President and/or Vice-President does in fact meet the requirements for election to the respective offices sought per the findings of fact numbered one through six above.

ASSUMPTIONS

1. That the sources identified above in the findings of fact section are accurate and reasonably unbiased in their statements.
2. That a literal reading of the United States Constitution alone fails to note any other qualifications such as prior experience as a lawful criteria for election to the office of President or Vice-President of the United States. Thus we can safely assume that the lack of elaboration indicates that only those items cited in findings of fact numbered one and two respectively are to be considered when evaluating a candidates legal qualification to serve in the office(s) sought.
   

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. That the question of whether each candidate is legally qualified to hold the offices to which they seek be finalized in favor of each candidate. (Opinion 1 and Assumption 1 and 2)