Mommy, Can I Be the President Some Day?

by Pam Connell | More from this Blogger

03 Jul 2008 11:00 PM

I remember wondering what I'd say if my daughter asked me whether she could become the President of the United States when she grew up. I hoped she wouldn't.

It's not really that important, of course. Who in their right mind would want to be President, with all the criticism, loss of privacy, danger of being assassinated, responsibility for so many lives? Well, okay, I used to want to be. It just seemed like the fastest way to save the world, like I wanted to when I was an idealistic teenager. But I soon realized that I didn't have the stomach for the campaign trail and set my sights lower, like a Cabinet post perhaps. Lots of influence, some criticism of course, but at least a bit more out of the spotlight. Of course, there are so many other things one can be in this country. The law that only natural-born citizens can be President wouldn't, for example, stop one from being Secretary of State, fourth in line to the Presidency. Henry Kissinger was born in Germany, and while people sometimes brought it up, no one was really worried about the fourth in line. (The Vice President must also be a natural-born citizen.)

While our children are considered citizens, they are not considered "natural-born citizens". About the only difference this makes, as far as I can tell, is that she can't be President or Vice President.

I still found myself stammering when she actually asked me, though. Meg works so hard in school; it would be nice to be able to repeat the old line that there are absolutely no limits to where she can go.

Whether you want the job or not, it's the symbolism of the thing. We keep telling our kids that in America you can be anything, even the President of the United States. To tell her that she could do anything except the top job because she wasn't born a citizen seemed somehow to tell her that she wasn't good enough, she wasn't a real American.

I suppose I can go back and explain to her that the Constitution was written over two hundred years ago, when the country was new and probably anxious to prove that a country based on democratic ideals could actually endure.

I'm not sure that would mean much to her, though.

Please see these related blogs:

The Election of the Untested and the Untried

More Great Careers: Physician's Assistant to Professor

Now is the Time to Teach Your Homeschoolers About Politics

Learn more about Pam Connell

Pam Connell is a mother of three by both birth and adoption. She has worked in education, child care, social services, ministry and journalism.

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Valorie Delp (49340) 30 Sep 2008 07:46 PM

I gotta be honest. . .I'm not sure why this is a big deal. The reality is you can't do everything. You can't be everything. The reasons are irrelevant. I understand your line of thought in that somehow it's saying that she's a second class citizen. . .but I guess I think of it differently. I don't like telling my children they can be anything--because in reality there are limits to where they can go. I'd rather tell them that they are gifted in a special way and that they should and can do what they're meant to do. But I liked the blog Pam. ;-)

Pam Connell (2658) 01 Oct 2008 12:31 AM

I should clarify that this affects only adoptions from foreign countries. It is the fact of being an immigrant, not being adopted, that disqualifies my daughters because the Constitution says that the President should be someone who has been a citizen from birth. My daughters are American citizens now and have all the other rights of citizens, but of course they were not U.S. citizens from birth.

Children born in the U.S. are eligible to become President (when they reach a certain age of course) whether they are adopted or not.

Of course Valorie is right that it's not a big deal. I"m surprised my daughter even asked. For me I guess it's just the symbolism of the thing. We used to have parents and teachers tell us, "study hard and you could be the President someday!" We have predictions at graduation about which classmate was "most likely to become President". I guess for me the issue is having Meg's adoption finalized, "as if born to me" as Paitence says, and telling her she is just as much our child as the son who was born to us, and she's a U.S. citizen just like he is...except not quite.

Valorie Delp (49340) 01 Oct 2008 04:17 AM

I understand the symbolism. Don't think the rules should be changed but understand the symbolism completely.