The prof spoke in a way that implied this is an accepted truth in the legal community, rather than just his own opinion. But IANAL for a reason, I got a D in that class and maybe he bamboozled me :)

America is incredible at "doing the right thing" when push comes to shove - regardless of policy, procedure, or legalese. In so many ways, going through life in the US means people figure out how to help you, unblock you, or ignore hurdles.

Allowing Arnold to become president if he was interested is clearly such thing - no sensible person would think it should be prevented - so it won't.

But unfortunately the whole procedure is not documented, relies heavily on systemic and entrenched privilege, and as the Trump administration revealed, and how the culture has evolved since then, can absolutely be mercilessly abused and taken advantage of by bad actors. The fact that the President could violate dozens of straight up laws, and not be charged with any crime is a mockery of the justice system. It really is "rules for thee, not for me".

As a white male, I find America (and to some degree Canada, which straddles the middleground) very convenient. As opposed to when I lived in Western Europe, and found myself facing an emotionless bureaucrat telling me "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."

But I also know a system with unwritten rules is never going to be equal, never mind equitable.

Show me where it says that.

(IANAL)

So the law professor talked like a lawyer? :)