At the top of Thursday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Harry Smith teased a story on John McCain being born in the Panama Canal zone rather than inside the United States and if it would disqualify him from the presidency: "Born in the USA. John McCain wasn't. Can he still be president?"

The story, which was regurgitated from The New York Times, was presented as a news brief by co-host Russ Mitchell a few minutes later:

Does John McCain's birthplace disqualify him from serving as president? The New York Times raises the issue in a report this morning. McCain is a citizen, but he was born on a U.S. military base in the Panama Canal where his father was posted. The Constitution says only a natural-born citizen can serve as president. So far no one born outside the U.S. has served as president.

In the New York Times article [1], Associate Law Professor Sarah H. Duggin, from Catholic University, was quoted as saying "It is not a slam-dunk situation" in reference to the constitutionality of McCain’s candidacy. This is the same New York Times that published a weakly sourced hit piece on McCain just last week.

First, U.S. military bases are considered to be American soil. Second, given the media’s sensitivity to a photo of Barack Obama in Somalian dress, it is interesting that John McCain’s birthplace would be considered an important story to cover.