What do Ted Cruz, Barack Obama and John McCain have in common?

Barack Obama, John McCain and Ted Cruz have all come under scrutiny over their right to be or become the President of the United States under the Constitution vis a vis where they were born. Under the Constitution it states one must be a natural born citizen, however, that clause includes the roles of one’s parents. Therefore if one’s mother or father is a citizen, they are considered natural born.

When Ted Cruz recently released his mother’s birth certificate the document clearly states his mother was a citizen of the United States, therefore Cruz is indeed a natural born citizen. (CBS News)

John McCain, who ran the unsuccessful campaign in 2008 against then Senator Barack Obama, had his birth origins challenged, being born in Panama, but having parents that were U.S. citizens. McCain, has forgotten that jab, however, as he is now questioning Senator Cruz’s eligibility (Daily Kos)

Finally, unless on has been living under a rock, our President, Barack Obama had his citizenship questioned, as his father was not a US citizen and he spent some of his childhood outside of the US – however his mother was clearly a US Citizen. . (Politico).

It is the season of campaigns, and of course, if one is chasing a front runner or is not liked by those who live in glass houses, one has to prove themselves.

All three men, and there were others, have been questioned on their ability to run for the highest office in the land based solely on their birth.

Trump Visits Burlington, Vermont

Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, made a visit to Burlington Vermont to hold a rally yesterday. One might think, in practical terms, that going to past-“blue” Vermont would be a huge waste of time; however, in watching the live stream, it was apparent that was simply not the case. The video on You Tube (here) is telling. The venue was small, holding 1400 people with 100 of those members of the press, and of course, being in a college town, there were more than the usual protestors mingled with the crowd. It was interesting to watch the manner in which he was at fist amused, but as the mini-bursts continued, his mood changed to one of apparent disgust, so he called them “rude”. It was the usual Trump rally, however, with more noise from supporters than from those students and professors who so rudely go into venues to protest.

Overall, what is always telling in his appearances is his connection to those supporters in the crowd, and his affection for them. In watching a half dozen of these event via streaming, and attending one in Worcester, MA with a crowd of 14,000, if one listens to his tone, watches his demeanor, one begins to understand he’s sincere, has a wicked sense of humor, and is having the time of his life, but, at the same time, feels compelled to be there out of a sense of duty.

Of course, this is a personal perspective, yet, six months ago, it was easy to dismiss the man, given who he was in the public eye, an entertainer, pure and simple.

What he has done to date is show the American people who are interested in listening to him, that there is hope and that as he can and will say exactly what they are thinking. He is a rare individual indeed, one willing to lose opportunities to enrich himself, in order to run for the Presidency – which is, sadly, not always the case.

Therefore, with a six weeks or so before the primaries begin, it is with a great deal of interest that one watches a candidate invest time in places where no one else has bothered to go, winning hearts, changing minds, and throwing the bums out who so rudely interrupt.

Big Winner of the 1st 2016 GOP Primary Debate Marathon – Fox News – All Candidates – Too Early to Determine

The large field of 2016 GOP Candidates - split for two debates by tiers - image insider fox news

Last night’s back to back GOP 2016 Primary debate hosted by Fox News is Cleveland, OH, with 17 candidates vying for the spotlight, appears to have had, at first glimpse of the headlines, a net zero effect on the candidates, however, the most positive or negative reactions go to the network itself, with the majority of commentators either praising or debasing the network. That leads to the theory that this debate may have been the largest audience for a primary debate in the history of televised debates. Obviously time will tell, as the ratings are not yet available, however with the hype surrounding many of the key players, such as Donald Trump, but all news organizations, and the number of people watching just for Trump, makes that scenario likely. See: CNN Opinions on who won the GOP Debate

New York’s CBS

Time

Tucson News Now (one of my local where to watch to GOP Debate

On the Candidates there are a variety of opinions as to who won or lost in the debate, and front a general consensus of the 13,200,000 available on Google News as of 5:32 AM EST 8/7/15 it could be any one of the seventeen GOP Candidates who were either in the first or second debate.

Donald Trump was the prime draw for the majority of viewers, based on comments either positive or negative and possibly of the plurality of coverage of the debate itself. In this humble opinion, there were no clear winners or losers, with only personal preference needles moved slightly. The Drudgereport poll results indicate that Trump was the clear winner, with Cruz in second place and Carson in third, however, as with all internet polls, there are opportunities for campaign operatives to help on a large scale to get their candidate over the top in, what is the largest news aggregator on the net(Drudge Report)

The only candidate to truly stand out as lackluster from the perspective of this Libertarian leaning independent from MA was Gov. Jeb Bush. The balance delivered as expected, with the time constraints and the unusually large field. What might be missing in all of the hype is the huge service Donald Trump has performed for the GOP in general – without his presence causing such a national firestorm (and international given the coverage by the BBC and other world outlets – viewers tuning in to watch Trump only may have learned about the other candidates and conservative viewpoints, counting as new votes cast in the primaries and caucuses let alone the general election, regardless of who the nominee may be. Personal favorites, Cruz, Fiorina, Carson and yes, Rand Paul and Donald Trump – go figure.