Besides the charisma, access to a large amount of funding, a closet free of
skeletons, a very thick skin, and a band of loyal citizens that agree with your
political standpoints, you must ask 2 simple questions; how old are you, and
where were you born?
-Only native-born U.S. citizens (or those born abroad, but
only to parents who were both citizens of the U.S.) may be president of the
United States. Birthers argued that Barack Obama could not produce a legitimate birth certificate, and therefore was ineligible to be president. Originally the
constitution provided a loophole in this rule, stating that if the presidential
nominee was not born in the U.S. but was a citizen at the time the constitution
was created, they were clear for the running. Considering that the constitution
was finalized in 1789 however, this loophole probably won’t help anyone today.
-Presidential candidates must also be at least 35 years of
age. There is no maximum age limit to this requirement. John F. Kennedy was the
youngest president at age 43 at the time of his inauguration and Ronald Reagan
was the oldest, age 77 at the end of his term.
-Finally, one must be accustomed to U.S. life and is
required to have lived in the U.S .for at least 14 years in addition to being
an American born citizen. The constitution is somewhat vague on this last point
however. It doesn’t mention whether those years must be consecutive or what the
exact definition of residency is. This qualification has never been challenged
thus far in our presidential history.
These are the three explicit criteria listed in the U.S.
constitution for being the president.
