It’s true.  John McCain was not born in the U.S.  But whether or not that will negate his run for President of the United States is not yet clear.  McCain was born in the Canal Zone of Panama, a U.S. territory in 1936 while his father served in the military.

This recent news about McCain’s birthright qualifications made me think of the bevvy of other “Canal Zone Brats” who were born in Panama.  Among the more notable:

Jeff Buckley — deceased singer/songwriter
Jordan Knight — new kid on the block singer

Some other random and/or famous “real” Panamanians:

Rod Carew — major league baseball hall of famer
Omar Torrijos — predecessor to Noriega
Roberto Duran — middleweight boxing hall of famer
Justine Pasek — former Miss Universe
Reuben Blades — actor, singer, tourism minister

So we shall see if being born in Panama is a curse for Mr. McCain.  There are many days as an expat here in Panama when I wish I’d had the good luck to be born here, if only to make residency and business red tape a little easier.

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Filed under: News on February 28th, 2008