Senate panel OKs McCain

Here’s one thing Senate Republicans and Democrats can agree on: John McCain is eligible to run for the highest office in the land.

The Constitution says the president must be “a natural-born citizen.” McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, albeit to American parents on a U.S. naval base. Some in the blogosphere question whether McCain meets the “natural-born” requirement.

McCain’s fellow senators, including presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, don’t see a problem. And they support a Senate resolution saying so.

“There is no doubt in my mind,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said after his panel advanced the resolution by a 19-0 vote. It now goes to the full Senate for a vote.