WASHINGTON - In a rare display of political harmony, Democrats and Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee came together on behalf of presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

On a 19-0 vote on Thursday, they approved a sense of the Senate resolution that declares McCain is indeed a “natural born” U.S. citizen and thus eligible under the Constitution to be president.

Questions have been raised because McCain was born outside of the United States — to Americans parents on a military base in 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone, then under U.S. control.

McCain, a Republican, insists he meets the “natural born” requirement. Many Democrats and Republicans agree. But the Senate panel approved the resolution and sent it to the full Senate for a vote as a statement and precautionary move.

A sense of the Senate resolution is not binding. But if there is a court challenge of McCain’s eligibility, it could help influence the decision.

“The Senate should adopt this resolution and put to rest any question of Sen. McCain’s status as a ‘natural born citizen’,” said Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and a chief sponsor of the resolution.

Senate backers include Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who are competing for the Democratic presidential nomination and the right to face McCain in the November election. 

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Jose Gomez