President Obama and Article Two: Do We Really Want to Know?

Unless an objection was filed, Occidental College had until 10:00 am Pacific time today to respond to a subpoena filed on behalf of "Keyes et al" requesting

Academic and housing records of Barack Hussein Obama, including but not limited to approximately two years from September 1979 to June 1981

Why do Plaintiffs wish to review such documentation?

The gravamen of the Petition is the question as to whether United States Senator Barack Hussein Obama, of Illinois, is eligible to serve as president of the United States pursuant to the requirements for that office in the United States Constitution. The records sought may provide documentary evidence, and/or admissions by said Defendant, as to said eligibility or lack thereof.

My initial reaction to this avenue of investigation, one of three as of a month ago, was, huh, that's pretty clever. My second reaction was, you know, they might be on to something, especially as there are reports that the Obama administration would attempt to block the effort.

My ultimate reaction was of dread.

If Barack Obama does not qualify to be President of the United States under Article Two, Section One of the Constitution, I don't want his presidency challenged and I don't want him removed from office.

It's not because the worst has already happened and a truly egregious bill will become law as a result of his efforts. (Though the administration certainly is sending mixed signals about the urgency of its passage.) And it's not because the Republican candidate, John McCain, would not be his replacement.

It's because, rightly or wrongly, so many people believe that a milestone was reached and the ultimate glass ceiling was broken for African Americans. (Me, I've thought all along that America has known for a long time that Martin Luther King Jr. was on to something.) It's because of the false yet ugly accusations that would be made. (The fact that one of the Plaintiffs of this subpoena is himself African American would be deliberately overlooked.) It's because, rightly or wrongly, so many people of all colors would be so bitterly disappointed if Barack Obama were disqualified "now that he has come so far", "now that we have come so far".

Yes, if the worst happened, ultimately, it would be Barack Obama himself who would let everyone down because he failed to ... well, properly vet himself before running. But many people believe that this is larger than one man. And if that one man were removed from the White House, too many people would never understand the real reason, or would refuse to understand the real reason. I'm not sure I can face their reaction, even if it is based upon flawed information or reasoning.