The colonists who left England to escape hereditary rule would be surprised to find so much of it in American politics two centuries later as jockeying begins to fill Senate seats vacated by members of the Obama Administration.
Name recognition has been important in contested elections, but it seems to be a major factor in appointed positions as well.
For Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, those being considered include former New York Governor Mario Cuomo's son Andrew, Robert Kennedy Jr., Caroline Kennedy--and even Bill Clinton. For Obama's vacated position in Illinois, the front runner is Jesse Jackson Jr. and, in Delaware, the newly appointed Ted Kaufman is widely believed to be keeping the seat warm for Joe Biden's son Beau in 2010.
Nepotism has produced mixed results in recent American politics, as the histories of George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton suggest, but it's disconcerting to find inherited star quality playing so big a part in naming members of Congress' upper chamber.
Barack Obama's success this year was an important victory for meritocracy in American life, but the aftermath is showing that family connections still count.
Showing posts with label nepotism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nepotism. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Obama and Cheney: Kissing Cousins?
This dynasty thing has got to stop. After all the talk about Clintons and Bushes in the Oval Office for more than two decades, now poor Barack Obama is being dragged out to sit on a branch of Dick Cheney’s family tree.
Plugging her book on cable TV today, the Vice-President’s wife Lynne revealed that Obama and her husband had an ancestor in common eight generations back.
"Think about this," Mrs. Cheney said. "This is such an amazing American story that one ancestor, a man that came to Maryland, could be responsible down the family line for lives that have taken such different and varied paths as Dick's and Barack Obama's."
Even worse, Obama’s lineage has previously been tied to that of George W. Bush as 11th cousins through a shared 17th century Massachusetts relative.
Oh, the nepotism of it all! America needs new bloodlines. Better check all the way back on Giuliani, Thompson, Romney and Edwards.
Plugging her book on cable TV today, the Vice-President’s wife Lynne revealed that Obama and her husband had an ancestor in common eight generations back.
"Think about this," Mrs. Cheney said. "This is such an amazing American story that one ancestor, a man that came to Maryland, could be responsible down the family line for lives that have taken such different and varied paths as Dick's and Barack Obama's."
Even worse, Obama’s lineage has previously been tied to that of George W. Bush as 11th cousins through a shared 17th century Massachusetts relative.
Oh, the nepotism of it all! America needs new bloodlines. Better check all the way back on Giuliani, Thompson, Romney and Edwards.
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