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Originally Posted by Platapus
I would be very interested in you citing where in the Constitution it requires public servants to give their birth certificates to the press.
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No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen
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No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
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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.
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For a person to enter the office described, he or she must provide proper documentation. The Constitution doesn't say to whom said documentation must be provided, so the final default is the people. The people are represented by elected officials and appointed judges, but the final stop is right here. No, a birth certificate isn't specifically named, but what is the final proof of both citizenship and age? Everything always comes back to the birth certificate, and every citizen may be required to show one in certain dealings with the government.
Oh, the press? While they don't always live up to it, the press are the best watchdogs over government dealings. They really do represent us, when they do the job right. An official can't go around showing his documentation to everyone who asks, so he shows it to the elected or appointed authorities. When the people demand proof, he shows it to the press.
Also, in case you didn't know, I'm not even remotely a Birther. I cheerfully ignored all the hubbub, and when Obama did come up with a birth certificate I said "Well. There you go."