Hail to Schwarzenegger?

Arnold Schwarzenegger's political success, with an approval rating of 70 percent, has led many to draw parallels between him and the late President Ronald Reagan. Will Schwarzenegger, too, go from Hollywood actor to Hollywood Governor to Commander in Chief?

As the law currently stands, the answer to that question is no. Arnold is not a natural-born citizen and is therefore barred from serving as President of the United States. But many of Schwarzenegger's most passionate supporters are lobbying Congress and the States to have that law changed. And who can argue with them?

Article II of the U.S. Constitution states that "no person except a natural-born Citizen … shall be eligible to the Office of President..." The intended purpose of this clause was to prevent a foreign dynasty from hijacking the government, at the time a reasonable concern. But 217 years later, that paranoia is as illegitimate as the discrimination it causes. In this country of immigrants, it is un-American to make legal distinctions based on origin. The rights of U.S. citizens are being abridged due to a condition of their birth. This is as egregious as discrimination based on race or on gender.

There is a long tradition in this country of the consolidation of political power by the descendents of early immigrants and of distrust for more recent ones. The evidence runs rampant through American history, from the grandfather clauses of the post-Reconstruction South that barred voting to those whose grandfathers were disenfranchised to Japanese internment during World War II. And when it comes to the highest office in the land, that fear and distrust lingers still.

The Constitution should be amended to allow for any 35-year-old citizen to become President, regardless of his or her country of birth. Websites such as arnoldamendment.org are already raising awareness for the cause, hoping for a Schwarzenegger presidential bid in 2008. But the fight should not be for Schwarzenegger alone. It should be for Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, Congressmen Peter Hoekstra, Darrel Issa and Tom Lantos, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and all the other immigrants who wish to perform the highest service for their adoptive country.

The Constitution has been amended to blind it to gender and race. Now blind it to nationality.