This explains so much (Ted Cruz)

[Dysfundamental]

Yes born on American soil (or an Army/Navy base which is how McCain got in because he was born in Panama? I think.

No, that's not accurate. McCain was born in a city hospital, not on the US base. See also George Romney.

[salex]

No, that's not accurate. McCain was born in a city hospital, not on the US base. See also George Romney.

So, basically, how it is interpreted depends on what radio host the person spouting off about it listens and if said spouter likes or dislikes the person.

;0

[GawkingToo]

So, basically, how it is interpreted depends on what radio host the person spouting off about it listens and if said spouter likes or dislikes the person.

;0

RE to the Obama part of the question above:

The law has changed over the years. There are different rules depending on whether both parents were citizens or just one; whether the parents were married at the time of birth; if the parents weren't married, whether the citizen parent was the mother or the father, and so on.

For a baby born abroad to a U.S. citizen mother (and non-U.S. citizen father) during the time when Obama was born, the child only gets citizenship if the mother had lived in the U.S. for a certain number of years (maybe 10? I forget the exact number) prior to the baby's birth, and the at least 5 of those years had to have been after the mother turned 14. Thing is, Obama's mother was only 18 when he was born, she couldn't have met that 5-year requirement. So that's why it mattered where Obama was born.

Which isn't to say that the whole birther argument wasn't complete bullshit, because it was. That's just an explanation of why the whole thing couldn't be laid to rest simply by saying, "he'd be a natural-born citizen either way."

See this website for more details: http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/cit ... gh-parents

TLDR: There are categories of people who can be born outside the U.S. and still arguably count as "natural-born" citizens for purposes of eligibility for the presidency. Had Obama been born outside the U.S. he would not have fit in any of these categories, which is why it actually mattered where he was born.