All In The (Political) Family

In Saturday's Democratic primary in South Carolina, the last one before Super Humongous Tuesday, Illinois Senator Barack Obama once again defied the experts and overwhelmingly defeated New York Senator Hillary Clinton and former North Carolina senator John Edwards.

Throughout the campaign, Obama has been running on the promise of hope and change in Washington. He's also been running against his lack of experience, the perception that being African-American is a big stumbling block, and (to some people) the fact that his last name rhymes with Osama bin Laden.

But there's one other thing that could be Obama's downfall. He's running against the Clinton family--a former First Lady who wants to be president, and a husband who's already been one.

Usually, former presidents remain in the background, quietly supporting whoever is his party's nominee. Not Bill Clinton. While Hillary is out making stump speeches and pressing the flesh, Bill is playing attack dog, puncturing Obama's "fairy tale" candidacy and having a few bones to pick with the media for the way they've been covering the campaign.

Lately, the former president's needling of Obama has become so virulent (sometimes crossing the line into racism) that other prominent Democrats have reportedly told him to either dial it down or knock it off. But he can't help himself. He loves to campaign. And if that helps Hillary get elected, then so much the better.

Nepotism is not limited to the Clintons. On the Republican side, Mitt Romney's father George ran for the party's nomination in 1968 before dropping out.

In the last century alone, dynasties such as the Roosevelts, the Kennedys and the Bushes have dominated presidential politics. They put the lie to the notion that anyone can grow up to be president. Today we know that if you were born into certain families with a silver spoon in your mouth, you have a better than average shot at the White House.

If Hillary Clinton is elected president, will the Republicans--out of spite--propose a constitutional amendment barring former presidents' relatives from running for the White House? That would spare us the sight of watching Jeb Bush or Chelsea Clinton taking the oath of office.

Then again, such an amendment might backfire the way the two-term limit for presidents did for the Republicans when they got the law passed after Franklin Roosevelt's four terms, only to wish that Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan had stuck around a little longer.

Of course, if Obama or any of the GOP hopefuls win, we can look forward to maybe seeing their relatives and offspring follow in their footsteps in the future. And the cycle continues.