Dynasties ‘Made in the USA’

Published in La Vanguardia
(Spain) on 16 March 2015
by Màrius Carol (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Ken Woodhouse. Edited by Nathan Moseley.
The Bush family personifies political dynasty in the United States, since it managed to get both a father and son elected to the presidency, something that John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, also managed. But at the moment, the country is starting to think that the Bushes could exalt their royalty if Jeb becomes the Republican candidate. Time magazine has dedicated the front cover of its latest edition to him, and this paper highlighted yesterday in the chronicles of its Washington correspondent that Jeb Bush is the preferred candidate of the conservative elite. Political dynasties — the Roosevelts, the Rockefellers, the Kennedys — fascinate North Americans; their leaders have become defined as the “Dukes of Democracy” because they allow voters to identify with the sacrifices and triumphs of one family. Curiously, the women — wives and mothers — play an important role in the configuration of the profile of the candidate and in the roots of the candidate’s lineage.

The Bush family always thought that the one who would be elected to succeed George H.W. in the White House would be Jeb. He, like his father, married young, had a family and became a prize-winning university student, while his brother, George W., married much later, was a well-known partygoer and was at the bottom of the class at Yale.* In the 1994 campaign, both presented themselves as candidates for governor: one for Texas and the other for Florida. Jeb declared that the only woman he had been to bed with was his wife, to which George, seven years his senior, replied “Yes? Well you’ve set the bar very high for those of your generation.”**

The 2016 presidential elections could mean confrontation between two dynasties, the Bushes and the Clintons, although 70 percent of the country rejects this. At the moment, however, the heirs of both dukedoms are pursuing the presidency.

*Editor’s note: According to reported sources including the Huffington Post, Bush’s Yale transcript shows he was a C student, and was in the 21st percentile of his class during his first year.

**Editor’s note: The original quotation, although accurately translated, could not be verified.


Les dinasties 'made in USA'
La Vanguardia en català | 16/03/2015 - 00:00h | Última actualización: 16/03/2015 - 03:22h

Màrius Carol
Director

Els Bush són la personificació de la dinastia política als Estats Units, ja que van aconseguir situar a la presidència del país un pare i un fill -cosa que també van aconseguir els Adams-, però en aquests moments el país comença a pensar que els Bush poden sublimar la seva reialesa en el cas que Jeb sigui el candidat dels republicans. La revista Time li ha dedicat la portada del seu últim número i aquest diari destacava ahir en la crònica del corresponsal a Washington que és el preferit de les elits conservadores. Les dinasties polítiques -els Roosevelt, els Rockefeller, els Kennedy- fascinen els nord-americans, els líders dels quals s'han arribat a definir com "els ducs de la democràcia", perquè permeten que els electors s'identifiquin amb els sacrificis i triomfs d'una família. Curiosament, les dones -les esposes i les mares- juguen un paper important en la configuració del perfil del candidat i en l'arrelament del llinatge.

A la família Bush sempre van pensar que l'elegit per succeir un dia George H.W. a la Casa Blanca seria Jeb. Aquest últim, com el seu pare, es va casar jove, va crear una família i va ser un universitari guardonat, mentre que el seu germà George W. es va casar molt més tard, era un notable amant de les festes i va ser l'últim de la seva promoció a Yale. A la campanya del 1994, tots dos es van presentar per ser governador: l'un per Texas i l'altre per Florida. Jeb va declarar que l'única dona amb qui s'havia ficat al llit era la seva esposa, a la qual cosa George, set anys més gran, va replicar: "Sí? Doncs ha posat el llistó molt alt als de la seva generació".

Les eleccions del 2016 podrien suposar l'enfrontament de dues dinasties, els Bush i els Clinton, tot i que el 70% del país ho rebutja. De moment, però, els hereus dels dos ducats ho persegueixen.



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