Bush daughters should learn from daddy

There are plenty of reasons why George W. Bush has been a horrible president. In his first… There are plenty of reasons why George W. Bush has been a horrible president. In his first three and a half months in office, he almost caused a war with China, started on a path to environmental destruction, forced a nonsensical tax cut package through Congress, re-enacted the so-called global gag rule that could make overpopulation problems in the Third World even worse and refused to do anything to alleviate California’s power crisis.

But none of this compares to the fact that he has been unfair to his twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.

Last Tuesday, the girls were cited for underage drinking (they’re 19) in Austin, Texas, where Jenna attends the University of Texas. Jenna received a citation in April also when Austin police caught her drinking in a bar.

This was Jenna’s second offense; she already went before a magistrate for her previous citation, and now Dubya is forcing both daughters to do the same for this one.

What’s so wrong with this picture? Well, their father is taking no responsibility for their mistakes. Isn’t that what a wealthy, politically powerful father is for? I’m sure most of us college students would love to have a powerful, well-connected father to clean up our messes. After all, Dubya did.

During his years at Yale, where Barbara recently finished her freshman year, Dubya gained quite the reputation as a party animal. Although never confirmed, speculation of his cocaine use is rampant.

And in 1976, he was arrested for drunk driving near the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Yet he barely got into trouble for any of these things. While Jenna and Barbara’s misdeeds are all over the media, an enterprising reporter only discovered Dubya’s drunk driving arrest last October, a week before he “won” the presidency.

If Dubya were to follow in his father’s footsteps to an even greater extent (something that seems to be his desire in life), he would fix this for his daughters and allow them to be like any other spoiled rich children and party for a long time.

In fact, he was simply unfair to them by running for president when he did.

In 1988, the elder Bush became president of the United States. At that time, he was 64 and his son was already 42.

But when Dubya ran for the presidency, he was 54 and his daughters were only 18.

Thus they did not have the ability to party without consequence for nearly as long of a time as their father did.

Their father didn’t do much with his life until his father became president. His father’s advisers even considered him a potential political liability because of his failures.

But because he is suddenly president, his daughters are expected to take responsibility for their own lives much more quickly than he was. Perhaps this is not such a bad thing.

Just imagine what could happen if both Bush girls cleaned up their acts (I use that term loosely, since college students never drink underage) immediately.

They are 19 right now. They could find some good friends to help them buy into a successful business, such as the Texas Rangers.

At age 24, one of them could run for governor of a major state. Hopefully for her sake, the Republican Party will be cruising to victories nationwide that year and voters in that state will be bitter about her father’s loss of a second term as president.

She could then defeat a highly popular governor (someone such as, say, Ann Richards) on name recognition alone.

She could coast through six years in office with good economic times and little real power, winning a barely contested re-election after four years.

Then, at age 30, she could win the presidency, albeit under questionable circumstances (such as a Supreme Court case).

Just think what could happen, Barbara and Jenna. Your father seems to have found the formula for quick success, but he found it so late in life. If you get your acts together, you can have it now. Forget being young and having a good time. That’s not what college is for these days anyway.

One has to be 35 to become president, according to the Constitution. But I’m sure they could find a way around this.

Does this scenario sound impossible? It’s not if you’re a member of the Bush family.

Opinions Editor David McKenzie can be reached at [email protected].