Trump, Cruz, McCain and Birthplace

The media just loves to hype "controversies" about "outlandish" Trump statements, even if the comments contain more than a nugget of truth.

So it is now with Donald Trump's questions about whether Ted Cruz meets the constitutional requirements for a natural born citizen to be president.

Of course, this is catnip to journalists, especially with Trump's previous "birther" claims about President Obama's birth certificate.

Unfortunately- and this is a recurring theme with the media coverage of Trump - the effort to portray him and his statements as outlandish overlooks the legitimate issues it raises.

Take, for instance, this Robert Costa article in today's Washington Post. All the elements are there: Trump's claim, the Obama birther issue, and a quick dismissal of the point. There's a quick mention former GOP presidential candidate John McCain being in a similar situation since he was born in the Panama Canal zone.

Reading this article, you would never know that there was a significant debate about whether John McCain met the same Cruz-related constitutional requirement.

Articles in the Washington Post and New York Times (here, here and here) at the time make it clear that the issue, at least for McCain, was not so clear cut. So, in short, if the WaPo and the NYTimes explore in issue it is worthy of debate and inspection. If Donald Trump says it should be dismissed or mocked out of hand.