Opinion: Wait till you read who are cousins

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After all these years, just when you thought politics couldn’t get any stranger, they do.

Lynne Cheney was on television today, the place where every author of a new book goes to try to say the title of their book as often as possible. (Her new book is called ‘Blue Sky, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family,’ and it traces both her and her husband’s ancestry back to pioneer days, offering tips on genealogical research along the way.)

The wife of the Republican vice president was informed by the MSNBC interviewer that Hillary Clinton was likely going to be the Democratic presidential nominee; did Mrs. Cheney think America was ready for a female president?

Cheney, both an interview and political veteran, said she was certain Americans would make their presidential choice based on qualifications and for her what matters most is national security. And you’ll never guess which party she thinks is best-qualified to address that issue.

But just to get back to the book for a minute, she said, she found out something very interesting in her genealogical research into the amazing tales of her and Dick’s families as they made their way west across America. It seems that her husband, Dick, is related to somebody else prominent in politics. It seems he’s a cousin of Barack Obama’s.

No, really! Cheney said if you go back eight generations, Dick and Barack have a common ancestor. (Last month the Chicago Sun-Times reported Obama is also an 11th cousin to George W. Bush.)

So does that mean Cheney supports Obama’s candidacy?

Uh, no.

-- Andrew Malcolm