Clinton and Obama Long Lost Cousins of the Jolie-Pitts

Madeline Holler — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:36:00 GMT

Just one big happy family, right? It turns out, Hillary Clinton is related to Angelina Jolie. And Barack Obama is Brad Pitt's distant cousin. Could this be why we're reading about fights between America's favorite global-adoption couple? (The Jolie-Pitts, not the Democratic candidates!)

Researchers at the New England Geneological Society hunted down family connections for all three of the presidential candidates. Let's see who else is in the family.

Clinton, who is French-Canadian on her mother's side, is also related to Madonna (score!), Celine Dion (oh.), and Alanis Morissette (huh. Ironic.) She also gets Jack Kerouac and Camilla Parker-Bowles.

Obama is related to at least six American presidents, including (ahem!) George W. Bush (gonna use that Hillary?). Also, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry S. Truman and James Madison. Other Obama cousins include Vice President Dick Cheney, British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and Civil War General Robert E. Lee.

John McCain is related to Laura Bush (booooring!). Researchers have a hard time filling out the family tree of McCain, but Political Nanny thinks it could shed some light on the whole nasty teeth thing.

On the Pitt and Jolie lineage, from the AP:

Pitt and Obama are ninth cousins, linked by Edwin Hickman, who died in Virginia in 1769. Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, declined to comment on the senator's ancestry.

Clinton and Jolie are ninth cousins, twice removed, both related to Jean Cusson who died in St. Sulpice, Quebec, in 1718.

The 1700s? Well, Political Nanny is probably related to all of them too!

Extra Cookies: Women Who Work Get Candidate's Attention

Madeline Holler — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:01:00 GMT

Political Nanny is rewarding Barack Obama a few extra cookies at snacktime today for stating what is obvious to many but spoken of by so few: the U.S. doesn’t support working women.

On a campaign stop Monday, Obama met with nine working women in New Hampshire who sang the praises of flex-time and family leave. There, he made a pitch for expanding the Family and Medical Leave act to cover more workers and include time away for school activities, spending $1.5 billion for states to cover workers leave, and adding funding for after-school programs.

He left out one thing, however. Political Nanny would like to add that no family-friendly policy talk is complete without discussion of affordable, nearby, quality childcare. This is a huge problem for working mothers and fathers, including the middle class. Mile-long waiting lists and salary-eating tuition for the good stuff, lots of holding our noses and quiet toleration of the barely adequate stuff.

Most childcare agencies are for-profit, and therefore have to maximize earnings. This means rigid schedules, a penalty for part-timers, few extras and crappy food. And often, no space for babies – only potty-trained 2-year-olds.

While we're at it, we're also waiting for a candidate to take maternity leave seriously. Even accounting for the Family and Medical Leave Act, the U.S. standard 6-week leave for moms is woefully inadequate for both parents.

Obama told these workers that a lack of support for working mothers winds up costing society more in the long run, much like inadequate healthcare and disease prevention ends up costing more in an overload of critical care. In that case, he should know that affordable and available childcare can mean the difference between going back to work after having a baby or “opting out.”

What's your working woman issue for the candidates? What would you have said to Obama about work, family and U.S. support?

Political Nanny : Family Medical Leave Act

Clinton and Obama Long Lost Cousins of the Jolie-Pitts

Extra Cookies: Women Who Work Get Candidate's Attention