AP: Obama’s family tree examined

[Alamom]

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/09/09/news/nation_and_world/doc46e3bbd8644b6834234736.txt

Obama’s family tree examined

The ASSOCIATED PRESS
9/08/07

CHICAGO – They fought leopards in Africa and for their lives on the American frontier. They served on the U.S. Supreme Court and stole from governors. They owned slaves in Maryland and cooperated with white oppressors in Kenya.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s ancestors are as diverse a group as one might expect for a man born to a mother from Kansas and a father from Kenya. Using interviews with family members and genealogists, a study of archives and records, and Obama’s book, “Dreams from My Father,” the Chicago Sun-Times has cobbled together biographies of 16 of Obama’s ancestors, from the noble to the, well, not-so-noble.

And his family tree has its share of surprises. Take, for instance, the distant relation to three U.S. presidents – Harry S. Truman, George W. Bush and George Herbert Walker Bush – as well as to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Obama’s ancestors hail from seven countries: Kenya, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. And he has seven half-brothers and half-sisters living across some 10,000 miles.

>

His paternal grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama, bragged of chasing away leopards during a two-week trek to Nairobi during colonial rule in Kenya. But – to his grandson’s dismay – he also worked for white oppressors, first supervising road crews and then working in a white man’s home.

>

Still, it’s worth noting that President Truman is Obama’s fourth cousin four times removed, and Obama and the current President Bush are 11th cousins. Obama and Cheney have a common ancestor who migrated from France in the 17th century.

>

Obama's past, like many whose kin hail from the south, includes slavery. But unlike thousands of African-Americans, Obama is not a descendant of a slave, but the descendant of slave owners. The Illinois Senator, whose mother is white and father is black, has other notorious distant relatives . "None of Mr. Obama's ancestors lived under slavery in North America," wrote William Addams Reitwiesner, the genealogist who also works for the U.S. Library of Congress. Reitwiesner researched Obama's ancestry among others' in the government. In what he calls a "first draft" of his work , he revealed that Obama's maternal family owned slaves.

[BeyondGeography]

1. Your point?

[Fearless]

36. Exactly. Who cares?

[whopis01]

91. It is just ridiculous.

I am so happy to see that your response was the at the top of the replies.

Sometimes I think that people would prefer a monarchy system where your family lineage was all that would allow you to be (or prevent you from being) president or any other elected leader. I am sick of seeing relatives of former elected officials being praised for who they are related to and others being attacked for the same reason.

[roguevalley]

106. To me, its just interesting. Here is a melting pot in human form.

Genealogy is a pasttime for millions, me included. Every president gets this treatment and people are always researching candidates for this, especially ones with interesting backgrounds. Obama is a monument to human tenacity and history. I don't believe the op was making a disparaging remark by posting this. I found it fascinating and think its fine. IMHO. But then, I'm a genealogist.

[Tellurian]

114. I personally will not vote for anyone (distant or not) related to Bush..

It would be suicide for the country to have any kinship to the Bush family.

Electing another rouge relative would be the end of whatever is left of our democracy.

[Forkboy]

118. oy vey

[calteacherguy]

125. HIllary is probably related to Bush. nt

[Tellurian]

127. Any proof of your probability of just more bogus chatter?

[calteacherguy]

130. You are so childish. Everyone is related to everyone else.

And more importantly, it doesn't matter if Hillary is related to Bush or not any more than it matters if anyone is related to anyone!

[UrbScotty]

126. That's the kind of logic I'd expect elsewhere, not DU.

It is absolutely pathetic to not vote for someone simply because they are very very distantly related (through not fault of their own) to the dumbass.

[Tellurian]

128. at least we agree to disagree...

[zanne]

2. I love that about him.

When he says he wants to unite the nation, he means it. His experiences in life have made him a citizen of the world. Those few who thought that he would favor African-Americans if he were elected now know that he wouldn't. I wouldn't even be surprised if he chose a Republican or an Independent as his vice-president.

[kdmorris]

4. I wouldn't even be surprised if he chose a Republican

That's a GOOD thing for you???

[Colobo]

28. What a stupid idea.

[kdmorris]

35. I thought it pretty laughable

I can't see Obama choosing a Republican as a Vice President. Sorry, that's just not going to happen. But zanne seemed to think that adds to Obama's appeal somehow.

[flpoljunkie]

5. As Ari Berman, The Nation, said on C-Span today, Obama is the one candidate with crossover appeal.

This does not mean, however, that he would choose a Republican as a running mate. I do think that he would choose a running mate who also has crossover appeal-- perhaps someone like Wes Clark.

[zanne]

6. He often speaks of uniting the nation...

I've heard him speak pretty often, and he always mentions that there's no "blue" or "red" America--there's just America. I think this is prelude to including Republicans in his cabinet, should he be elected. He may be considered a cockeyed optimist, but he really believes that there is common ground.

[NOLALady]

12. He may not favor AA's

but since no other President has favored AA's, I don't see what difference it would make.
But, what part of his genealogy gives you that impression? This is not what I got from his family tree. Is it because he's a distant relative of GWB?

[ecstatic]

3. WTF? Why are they examining his tree

What is their point? And why aren't they examining the ancestry of the other candidates?

[Alamom]

11. "They" have and "they" do.....First presidential campaign?

Reitwiesner, the genealogist who also works for the U.S. Library of Congress.....researched Obama's ancestry among others' in the government.

[Momgonepostal]

113. Actually, "they" do

It seems like every time we get a new president, someone writes an article about that new presidnets ancestors. Last time the big genealogical news was the Bush and Kerry are distantly related.

If you are interested in genealogy, this is the kind fo thing you like to read about. I think family history is fascinating stuff, but not to the extent that it would change my mind about a candidate...ie, Obama is related to Bush, so I don't think I'll vote for him. :eyes:

[durrrty libby]

7. So he's not Bush-lite, he is Bush.That is one messed up tree

[CTLawGuy]

21. what an idiotic statement

congrats...

[Forkboy]

24. Par for the course

[geek tragedy]

44. Did the Hillary supporters just decide to adopt the VRWC

tactics instead of resisting them?

Seriously, if these pigs are the ones who'll be running the party, I may have to register independent.

[Pirate Smile]

58. She's good at that.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

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[CTLawGuy]

64. sorry, you've lost the right to lecture others about

decorum. You're the one that called Obama "Bush".

[durrrty libby]

66. Says you????

:rofl:

And I do get to lecture...cause looky loo the idiot got flushed:toast:

[CTLawGuy]

67. no says you

in your original post. you ought to be ashamed of yourself for making that characterization.

durrrty libby (1000+ posts) Sun Sep-09-07 08:51 AM
Response to Original message

7. So he's not Bush-lite, he is Bush.That is one messed up tree

I love America. It’s Americans I can’t stand~ Bill Maher
Alert

[durrrty libby]

72. I'll say it again, just for you

So he's not Bush-lite, he is Bush.That is one messed up tree

[Name removed]

73. Deleted message

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[durrrty libby]

86. I will consider that a direct threat

[CTLawGuy]

105. my message gets deleted

but 2 messages literally equating Obama with George W. Bush remain.

Hmm...

[durrrty libby]

109. Your posts were extremely rude, personal attacks, and in general, disgusting.

Maybe you should think about that :spank:

[CTLawGuy]

117. none of my posts were personal attacks

I was commenting on my offense at your equating of Obama with Bush, which is itself HIGHLY uncalled for.

Then I asked why I shouldn't complain to the mods about you, which I admit was a bit out of line and I'm sorry.
But it wasn't a personal attack, but again a response to your SECOND equating of Obama with George Bush., which you posted SOLELY to make me upset.

Apparently registering our anger at having our candidates equated with Bush is a no-no on DU, (or is it only Obama???).

[mckeown1128]

129. Well it isn't JUST Obama....

but it is everyone who isn't Hillary. That is why I almost never come here anymore.

[Muddy Waters Guitar]

69. WTF does the family tree have to do with his current stands?

I'd bet that both Hillary Clinton and John Edwards (maybe even Bill Richardson) have some ancestry linked to slave owners. So does this mean that they want to start modern plantations today? Does their genealogy program their mind? (Especially one as diverse as Obama's.) Of all the smears that some Hillary supporters have been trying to hurl at Obama, this is truly one of the most idiotic.

[CTLawGuy]

71. It is truly disgusting and shameful

OPs like these should not be allowed on DU. The problem is crafting a rule that allows only legitimate criticism while banning baseless and irrelevant slander. That can be very difficult.

[The Wielding Truth]

74. We all have similar ancestors, if you go back far enough.

Big deal. A splash of family colour just makes us more interesting.

[antiimperialist]

8. AP suggestion is clear: Obama is bad for African Americans because of his descent

He comes from slave owners. Time to vote for another candidate, AP hints.

AP has always sucked.

[NOLALady]

14. I wonder if AP knows how many AA's have slaveowners

in their ancestry.
Let's see, by that reasoning, any candidate with slave owning ancestors would be bad for AA's. Good Grief!

[marshall]

120. I didn't read that into the article

Is it printed elsewhere that the author is saying having slaveowners in one's ancestry makes one a bad candidae for AA?

On the other hand, both of my parents' have slave owning ancestors and I must admit that I have considered that to be a source of some of the racism I saw in those of my grand parents' generation. Both sides of the family basically lost everything during the war and I have wondered if the residual resentment was passed down a few generations.

Obama does make an issue of his ancestry though--he wrote a whole book on his father and what he got from that side of the family. Maybe I'm biased because genealogy has been a hobby of mine for over twenty years, but I find it very interesting.

[Name removed]

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[Algorem]

9. .

[zanne]

13. I'm dying to know...

What does . mean?

[Algorem]

18. means i thought it said "Osama" and i replied without reading the

post,so i had to delete it,something about a nut tree

[antiimperialist]

10. Guardian: How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power

Did the AP ever make a tree on Bush?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1312540,00.html

[Zodiak]

102. No, as a matter of fact

I have never heard of ANY analysis of a Presidential Candidate's family history by the minstream press.

This is a first, and the fact that it is Obama doesn't surprise me one bit.

Don't think that the part about his family fighting leopards doesn't have some racial overtones to it. Did they chase zebras, too?

What a crock, and the racial subtext is heard loud and clear, at least by this southerner.

[AspenRose]

115. Actually, they do this every election year, with all the candidates

Because when Kerry ran, they made a big deal about his "blueblood" lines and that he actually had a *gasp!* Jewish ancestor. :sarcasm:

They do it with all of them.

[CTLawGuy]

15. OMG he's INFECTED with republicanism!

Get a life! Seriously, what a disgusting, pointless line of attack.

[nevergiveup]

16. Genealogists can find dirt on anyone.

Thanks for sharing.

[Capn Sunshine]

31. Your family past is "dirt"??

Lets put aside this is a meme foisted upon us by the anti-Obama crowd. (Ie , he's not "black" enough) Why does it matter if his predecessors were slaves or not ? Why highlight this? Are you implying that if he walked alone down the street in Mobile , Alabama on a Saturday night, he'd get treated differently? Because his African ancestors weren't slaves? If you are, you've got some serious issues that go beyond race. Which is something you have issues with.

[nevergiveup]

50. Hey, I am on your side

Your interpretation of my comment was about as far off as possible. I was not implying or suggesting anything other than I thought the thread was garbage. I was being sarcastic and thought it was so obvious I didn't use the sarcasm icon.

[Douglas Carpenter]

17. there are reasons why a rational person may wish not to support Sen. Obama for President

but this is definitely not one of them

.

[Vickers]

19. I can't believe Obama is repsonsible for dropping the bombs on

Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however indirectly it is.

:eyes:

[1932]

20. If it's significant to this article that he's 11th cousins with Cheney, then why doesn't it make a

big deal about cousins who were slaves in North American (if it's so important that slaves under non-North American British colonial rule don't count as slaves), or about his wife's family's relatives?

[beaconess]

22. HORRORS! Obama has slaveowners in his ancestry! (just like most other black Americans!)

Most of us have slaveholders somewhere in our family tree. What's the big deal?

This is a complete non-issue! Only people ignorant of black history would harp on it.

[Adelante]

23. So am I the descendant of slave owners

It doesn't make me a bad person. It just makes me part of American history. Obama's genealogy is interesting, though, as would probably all of the candidates' genealogies be interesting. Thanks for posting.

[Forkboy]

25. And according to my aunt I have a distant relation to Nixon.

Your point? Or their point?

[Name removed]

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[Forkboy]

51. I'm sure there are quite a few characters in your family tree as well.

[Ethelk2044]

26. Anyone with Descendants from the time of Slavery is going to have slave

owners related to them. Even you! What is your point?


Stupid post

[Alamom]

30. I have "ancestors" from the time of slavery and after many years of

working on my ancestry, so far, NO slave owners.




Stupid reply.

[Name removed]

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[Colobo]

52. It's a dissapointing attack indeed.

[calteacherguy]

122. Why does it matter? What's your point?

Why does it matter who one has for ancestors????

:shrug:

[ruggerson]

33. My family lived in NY and New England

mid century in the 1800's.

Not a slaveowner amongst them.

Where do you get your facts?

[Adelante]

59. My ancestors were in New York and New Jersey

From New Amsterdam days to the abolition of slavery in 1829 they owned slaves working on farms and in stores. It was not at all unusual, just on a much smaller scale than in the South. I would go so far as to say anyone with Dutch, French or English ancestry in New York is more likely than not to find at least one slave owner in their genealogy. New England had a very different history than New York.

[Name removed]

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[The Wielding Truth]

76. You probably have a nefarious fur trader or a prohibition

noncomplier.If you go back far enough or examine souls closely enough you will find many unwise and many wise choices made. Silly, there are many circumstances that our families had to struggle through to get you and me here. Let them be as imperfect as we are,and remember we are not them. We can't judge them now, even if they were Hitlers or Bushes.

In other words, unless you or Obama are not following their ancestors unwise choices, then don't beat yourself or anyone up over it. We live now.

When they are gone, they are sadly gone, and we are here to be as honest and caring, as we can be in this challenging world.

[Kelly Rupert]

103. That's too broad a brush, I'd think.

Personally, I do have slaveowners in my past; there's a small town in Maryland named after them. (Of course, they were ruined after emancipation, and ended up as a line of impoverished coal miners--almost enough to make one believe in karma.)

However, I'd imagine that people with ancestors purely from the North--and only after the 1700s--would be totally free of a slaveowning history.

[Colobo]

29. Cheap attacks on Obama that show Democratic enemies and Republicans

have nothing real to attack him with.

[Alamom]

32. Katz, why do you consider a news article of Sen. Obama's ancestry an

attack? A good bit of this information was taken from his own book.

[Name removed]

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[Colobo]

48. Look at the parts of the article you chose to put in bold

C'mon, your intentions are clear. No need to hide something everyone sees.

[treestar]

99. It might be useful for the shallow voters

Can get them away from the ridiculous accusation that Barack is a Muslim.

Also show all that white blood to the racists.

It is a fascinating background. How many of us are related to both Truman and Bush?

It's the Bush blood that scares me. (Just kidding)

[Name removed]

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[TSIAS]

34. John Kerry was also related to Bush

I believe I saw a list that showed many presidents were actually distant relatives of each other.

All this proves is that most of us are related in some way or another.

Did Kerry being related to Bush stop you from voting for him?

[Name removed]

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[zulchzulu]

45. Just when you thought the bar was low on attacking Obama, it sunk 12,000 miles

Why on Earth would someone go through the trouble of using the DU bold function to highlight ridiculous crap about Obama's infinitesimal links to Truman, Bush and Cheney?

Fourth cousin four times removed? 11th cousins? A common ancestor?

Ferchissakes...do we want to play politics with RECENT Clinton family history just for kicks?

[ruggerson]

46. Every single major candidate

in the last fifty years has had his/her family tree pored over by journalists and historians.

And there have been numerous articles detailing the findings.

Why should Obama be exempt from what has become a campaign rite of passage?

Why should he be treated differently?

[zulchzulu]

47. So just what is a fourth cousin four times removed? 11th cousins?

I fail to see how that would even be understood by most people. I also fail to see how it is relevant in any way. It reminds me of the shit they try to lie about Obama that he's a "muslim"... same bullshit.

[ruggerson]

49. That's not the point

the point is he's not being treated differently than any other candidate. This is par for the course. Would you prefer he be treated differently?

[Alamom]

60. That's the point , Ruggerson. This candidate's supporters believe him

to be special, different and above scrutiny.

He's so perfect, we are not suppose to post legitimate news about him and they attack the article and the op.

This was from the AP and went out from hundreds of news outlets around the world today.



I have committed blasphemy........ :sarcasm:

[zulchzulu]

62. OK...so just what is a fourth cousin four times removed? 11th cousins?

Can you tell me? This apparently is a BIG issue.

So what would be a good example?

I want to see you spell it out. You can even use the bold tag. Hell, use whatever tag you want.

:popcorn:

[ruggerson]

65. Here you go

Your mother's sister's kids are your first cousins. Your grandmother's sister's grandkids are your second cousins. Your great grandmother's sister's great grandkids are your third cousins.

Your grandmother's sisters *kids* (not grandkids) are your second cousins once removed (one generation away from you). Your mother's sister's *grandkids* are your first cousins once removed (the children of your first cousins).

You can extrapolate from there.

[zulchzulu]

92. OK...So let me see if I have this right...

Your grandmother's sisters' grandkids grandmother's sisters' grandkids grandmother's sisters' grandkids grandmother's sisters' grandkids are your fourth cousins four times removed.

Now I see how this is relevant in the campaign.

Paging Jon Stewart.... paging Jon Stewart...

:rofl:

[Adelante]

85. Actually, Alamom

You committed meanness. There is nothing wrong with the article itself.

[Muddy Waters Guitar]

70. Yes, but why were "certain" passages bolded?

If this were just an informative piece, why were certain (and utterly meaningless) passages about Obama's incredibly remote family links to Cheney (and links to slaveowners, which many African-Americans have) set off in bold? Awfully fishy.

[libodem]

53. I think it's a good thing to make it clear

because I had to correct some people who were insisting that he is a Muslim. They got that oh, no, he's not okay, because he was schooled in Muslim religion. There are some real kooks out there that think he is, the next thing, to an Islamic extremest. Proving an all American back ground is nothing compared to that, actually a hell of a lot better. Michelle would do better to make that clear and not be broadcasting that he stinks.

[Cameron27]

54. Genealogy is fun, and you can come up with surprising

results, but by the time you get into distant relations, I doubt there's much significant genetic material left to connect those ancestors to present day personalities. Genealogy can be dangerous, when it's used to sterotype someone based on very little reliable scientific data.

[UncleSepp]

84. Since there's little if any scientific data on heritable personality

... it really doesn't make any sense at all. We go down a very dangerous road any time we assume that genetics determine personality, or that a certain family has a certain personality. The eugenics movement in America thought they were being scientific when they determined "criminal" families and then did their best to sterilize members of those families :-(

I have one story I like to use when someone tells me all about how they're descended from this king or that queen or other. My great-great-whatever from Ireland was an assassin in the 12th century, who came to fame by assassinating the heir to the throne of the High King. That usually turns the conversation to other things ;-)

[Mass]

55. The article is meaningless and has been done for every candidate! The parts underlined and bolded,

however, are revealing of the intentions of the poster.

[zulchzulu]

57. The takeaway from the article and OP's intentions are:

SCENE: Two knuckleheads are sitting around having a beer watching some game on a TV. So to talk politics, this is what happens...

Knucklehead One: Who, Jimmy...didja f*ckin' hear about that dude Obama? Yunno, da black guy... yeah... he's all about beins' an outsider 'n sh*t and it turns out he's f*ckin' related to Bush and Cheney! N' git 'dis, he's cousins 'er sumptin' wit' that guy Truman! Yunno, da dude who kilt all dem Japs with the nukes! Whoa!

Knucklehead Two: Yeah, I hoided sumptin' about dat from Jimmy, yunno, da dude wit' da Hillary sticker on his SUV!

Music from the '90s plays on... something about change....

:crazy:

[killbotfactory]

61. And just what is his relationship to Kevin Bacon?

With Oprah's party, finding a connection to Bacon should be trivial!

[coco77]

63. The point is we will be hearing this bullshit throughout the campaign..

because they think he is not good enough.

[bamacrat]

68. ILLUMINATI

[NYCGirl]

112. And don't forget — SKULL AND BONES! SKULL AND BONES!!111 NT

[alteredstate]

75. Who gives a flying fuck about a candidate's distant relatives' past? n/t

[MADem]

78. I do. It doesn't affect my view of him as a candidate, but I find it fascinating

from a geneological perspective.

[BootinUp]

77. Why are people freaking out at this report?

Would you rather just have repukes play Obama Osama games with his name? I would guess most people reading this would find it interesting and not much more, it fills in the picture about him a little.

[Muddy Waters Guitar]

79. It's because of the selective bolding

Had the OP just provided a factual, neutral report on his genealogy, fine. But they selectively bolded parts that linked Obama's family tree to slaveowners and to Cheney-- with someone even arguing that this made Obama like Bush! This was the outrage.

[CTLawGuy]

80. no, not "like" Bush

in fact twice she said he "is" Bush.

[BootinUp]

83. I didn't see it as an attack, but then

I really ain't that caught up in the primary festivities yet. To me it just highlights his diverse family heritage. Its not going to hurt him in any way imho.

[zabet]

81. Regardless of the remarks in the OP

un bold type - I find this article very informative. I
hope someone here can find a transcript of his speech at
Selma and see if what he said about his family tree is
close to this, if indeed, parts of it came from his book.

Before anyone flames me - I am not against Obama but, he is
not a top pick for me either.

[progressoid]

82. OMG, he's part of the BFEE!!!!

Eeeek!

:eyes:

[druidity33]

87. so

if Obama and Cheney have a "common ancestor" and Obama is related to Bush, does that mean that Bush and Cheney are related somehow? EEeewwww... creepy.

:(

btw, what a shitty "news" story.

[SaveElmer]

88. Not that unusual...

Almost any American with British ancestry hooks into the royal family somewhere...makes tracing these lines very easy...and relates millions of Americans...

Judging by this I am probably related to Barack Obama, as are millions of Americans

[Odin2005]

89. This thread is stupid, throw rocks at it.

What the OP bolded pretty much shows what his/her agenda is. :eyes:

[whopis01]

90. So his father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate was a republican? n/t

[zulchzulu]

93. An 11th cousin is related to a great great great great great great great great...

... great great great grandparent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin

If Jon Stewart doesn't cover this story...

:rofl:

[mzmolly]

94. Very interesting. Obama is related to Bush and Truman.

Wow, fascinating stuff.

[Pachamama]

95. Interesting indeed....I think I may have found the only reason not to vote for Obama!

Damn, if I found out I was related to Bush, even if it was so distant, I think I'd feel the need to shower constantly or worse.... :puke:

Fascinating stuff indeed....

[mzmolly]

101. Bush and Kerry were said to be distant cousins who are related to "Dracula."

Obama's relatives won't effect my vote, but it's interesting none the less.

http://landing.msn.ancestry.com/famoustree/strange/bushkerry/trees.aspx?html=bushkerry&sourceCode=13673

The more "interesting" website: http://www.infowars.com/print/Secret_societies/vladtree.htm

[calteacherguy]

123. If you go back far enough everyone is related somehow to everyone else.

Everyone is bound to be related distantly to many, many famous people. There is nothing unusual about this at all if you study genealogy.

[LWolf]

96. Oh, boy.

:popcorn:

[Stuckinthebush]

97. LOL...aren't we all 11th cousins to Bush?

11th cousins? Jesus, that's like no relation isn't it?

[calteacherguy]

124. Probabaly. It's a ridiculous article...essentially meaningless. nt

[treestar]

98. He's related to Cheney? I'm not voting for him!

Just kidding.

[Kelly Rupert]

100. Everyone's family tree has all sorts of relations. So what? n/t

[Dr. Strange]

104. Rats! And I was going to vote for him!

Between this and the "stinky morning breathe," my whole world is crashing around me!

:eyes:

[rufus dog]

107. show me a picture

Of him hanging out with Cheney and his family or Bush and his family then we might have something that is at least a low level piece of conversation. This is assinine. Let's talk brothers - Neal Bush, Roger Clinton, Billy Carter, does that directly relate to the character of the brother who became president?

[Imagevision]

108. Obama and Elvis went to different schools together... bet you didn't know that!

[LanternWaste]

110. I thought I'm supposed to focus on the individual...

I confused... I thought I'm supposed to focus on the individual running for the candidacy-- their policies, priorities, etc.; but you're implying I should also take their genealogy and pedigree into account...?

If so, maybe someone could explain to me precisely why someone's great-great-grandfather is relevant to the here and now?

[ellacott]

111. I agree with you. This is really lame

Kerry and Bush are also related. I guess if people knew this in 2004 they wouldn't have voted for Kerry.:eyes:

I wish people would stop these kinds of posts.

[Jed Dilligan]

116. Pretty much everyone is related if you go back enough generations nt

[Pyewacket]

119. An interesting family tree

I find that a very interesting family tree.

[WCGreen]

121. I think that everyone in America is a distant cousin of a president

and an ax murderer...

Six degrees of seperation....

[calteacherguy]

131. You are correct. nt