Does U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet have a “birther” problem?
“Birther” is the pejorative nickname used by liberals to mock critics who questioned whether President Obama was a natural born citizen of the U.S. and eligible to hold the highest office of the land.
The mere word “birther” became the rallying cry of a pretty nasty campaign by the White House targeting Republicans who tried to roll back Obamacare.
Then the tables turned and liberals went all birther on Ted Cruz because the Texas Republican seeking the 2016 nomination was born in Canada to a Cuban father and American mother.
Which brings us to Bennet, who is on the short-list of possible running mates for Hillary Clinton’s quest for the presidency.
He was born in New Delhi (India) while his father, Douglas J. Bennet, was serving as an aide to Chester Bowles, then the U.S. ambassador to India. Douglas Bennet ran the United States Agency for International Development under President Jimmy Carter, served as President and CEO of National Public Radio (1983–93), and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs in the Clinton Administration (1993–95).
His grandfather, Douglas Bennet, had been an economic adviser in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. His grandmother, Phoebe Bennet (née Benedict), was a direct-line descendant of Edward Fuller, who crossed the Atlantic Ocean from England to Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower in 1620. Bennet’s mother, Susanne Christine (née Klejman), immigrated to the United States with her family in 1950. Her parents were Polish Jews and survived imprisonment in the Warsaw Ghetto. Bennet’s mother is a retired school librarian who teaches English as a second language for a Washington nonprofit, and is also an art historian specializing in Roman antiquities.
Bennet grew up in Washington, D.C. as his father served as an aide to Vice President Hubert Humphrey, among others. Bennet was held back in second grade because of his struggle with dyslexia. He was enrolled at St. Albans School, an all-boys preparatory school, and served as a page on Capitol Hill.
The Constitution mandates that the president of the U.S. is required to be a natural born citizen, and so must his possible predecessor, the vice president.
However, some interpretations of that clause say the requirement only means that at least one parent is a U.S. citizen.
We don’t think Bennet’s political problem will be his birthplace — although we admit it would be amusing to watch liberals backtrack on their newfound criticism of the foreign-born.
The fact is, Bennet grew up in Washington, D.C., his mother still lives there, and he resides inside the Beltway most of the time. That he maintains a second home in Colorado and visits us little people on occasion is what will factor into his current political situation – the U.S. Senate race.
Mitt Romney was born in Detroit. No liberals went "birther" on him. Maybe you were thinking (and in your case I use the word very loosely) of Romney's father, George Romney, who was born in Mexico and who was a contender for the GOP presidential nomination back in 1968. Of course this can all be found on Wikipedia, but why let facts get in the way of a fatuous web post?