Politics is a family business. Since the times of Charlemagne, young princes where groomed to inherit the crown. In the United States we have eliminated nobility but have still keep the essence of regal nepotism. We all know that President George H. W. Bush, the 41st president, is the father of President George W. Bush, the 43rd president. But this was not the first father and son to both hold the presidency. President John Adams, the second president, was the father of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president. There has also been a pair of grandfather and grandson that held the office of the president of the United States. William Henry Harrison, the ninth president, was the grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president. There are other less obvious relationships among some presidents. For example, the current president is related in one form or another to at least four other presidents. For example, Barbara Bush, mother to President George W. Bush, is a descendant of Franklin Pierce, the 14th president. In my mind the most interesting relationship to the presidency is that of Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was a distant cousin to President Theodore Roosevelt and of his own wife Eleanor Roosevelt. Talk about keeping it in the family.
In more recent times, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton from New York is the first First Lady to be elected to the Senate. She of course is the wife of President Clinton. Speaking of wives, Senator Elizabeth Dole from North Carolina is the wife of Senator Bob Dole from Kansas. Governor Jeb Bush of Florida is the brother of the current president. There is other pair of siblings in politics, this time in congress. Senator Ken Salazar from Colorado is the brother of Representative John Salazar from Colorado.
Politics does seem to run in the family. For one, the political successors have instant name recognition and family influence. The sons and daughters of those in office grow up in a different world than the rest of us, a world of special interests, corporate donations, and dirty campaigns. For example, it is commonly known that President Bush meet many of his political advisors such as Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Chenney by shadowing his father in republican conventions and in the White House. My family has never set foot in the White House, but they have served several terms in the Poor House. I sincerely hope that I do not follow the example of John Quincy Adams or George W. Bush.