For those "birthers" out there who still seem to be operating under the misinformed impression that Barack Obama is not a "natural-born" citizen and thus is ineligible to be president of the United States, time to reach into the clue bag and pull one out!
The argument seems to rest on the reality-defying belief that Obama was not actually born in Hawaii, despite the publicly-released copies of his birth certificate which confirms exactly that. Instead, these people believe he was actually born in Indonesia, and thus is not a "natural born" citizen of the United States. This is an example of ignorance being dangerous to the user's health.
See, it does not matter if Obama was born in Hawaii, or Indonesia, or Kenya, or a Starbucks in Downtown Tokyo. The principle that the "birthers" are relying upon is known as jus soli, which basically means you are a citizen of whichever country in which you are born.
However, the United States acknowledges another principle of citizenship known as jus sanguinis, which means you are a citizen of whichever country your parents are citizens. So, because EVERYONE acknowledges that President Obama's mother is an American, and she obviously gave birth to him, he is therefore a "natural born" citizen of the United States.
This principle was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1898 (yes, over 100 years ago so do not blame an "activist" court) in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark (169 U.S. 649).
So, to the "birthers" I say: Get over it. You lost. Try again next time. And, in the meantime, shut up.
