American Royalty: The Bush and Clinton Families and the Danger to the American Presidency (The Evolving American Presidency)

256 Pages·2008·0.95 MB·English

by  Matthew T. Corrigan

The Evolving American Presidency Series
Series Foreword:
The American Presidency touches virtually every aspect of American and world p olitics.
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Michael A. Genovese
Loyola Chair of Leadership
Loyola Marymount University
Palgrave’s The Evolving American Presidency, Series Editor
The Second Term of George W. Bush
edited by Robert Maranto, Douglas M. Brattebo, and Tom Lansford
The Presidency and the Challenge of Democracy
edited by Michael A. Genovese and Lori Cox Han
Religion and the American Presidency
edited by Mark J. Rozell and Gleaves Whitney
Religion and the Bush Presidency
edited by Mark J. Rozell and Gleaves Whitney
Test by Fire: The War Presidency of George W. Bush
by Robert Swansbrough
American Royalty: The Bush and Clinton Families and the Danger to the
American Presidency
by Matthew T. Corrigan
American Royalty
The Bush and Clinton Families
and the Danger to the
American Presidency
Matthew T. Corrigan
AMERICAN ROYALTY
Copyright © Matthew T. Corrigan, 2008.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2008 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™
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Companies and representatives throughout the world.
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom
and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European
Union and other countries.
ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–8416–6 paperback
ISBN-10: 1–4039–8416–6 paperback
ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–8415–9 hardcover
ISBN-10: 1–4039–8415–8 hardcover
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Corrigan, Matthew T.
American royalty : the Bush and Clinton families and the danger
to the American presidency / Matthew T. Corrigan.
p. cm.—(The evolving American presidency series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1–4039–8416–6 (alk. paper)—ISBN 1–4039–8415–8 (alk. paper)
1. Presidents—United States. 2. Bush family. 3. Clinton family.
4. United States—Politics and government—1989– 5. Aristocracy
(Political science)—United States—History. I. Title.
JK516.C618 2008
973.9209292—dc22 2007035183
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: June 2008
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
This book is dedicated to my parents,
John and Patricia Corrigan for all
of their love and support.
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
One Introduction 1
Two American Democracy and Family Presidencies 11
Three Families Matter 29
Four The Father Begins a Dynasty 55
Five The Clintons Take Power 77
Six The Bush Redemption 111
Seven From First Lady to President? 153
Eight The Prince in Waiting 179
Notes 195
Bibliography 209
Index 219
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Preface
This book presents a normative argument that multiple presidencies
within immediate families do not serve the nation or the presidency
well. Chapter 1 will briefly present the two basic ideas that challenge
the concept of family presidencies. First, family connections and name
recognition give tremendous advantages to presidential relatives who
seek the office. These advantages undermine the concerns of the
founders about a concentration of too much power in the hands of
the few. Moreover, for the modern presidency, family legacies dilute
democratic maturation in the nation’s politics. Second, family pres-
sures and expectations can impact presidencies negatively especially
in regards to policy outcomes.
Chapter 2 will examine the role of the office of the presidency as a
representative institution. As political scientist James Barber states,
“the presidency is different. . . . The one figure that draws people’s
hopes and fears for the political future.” In our democratic republic,
the president has a unique role. The office and the person who inhab-
its the office represent the entire nation. No legislator, governor, or
appointee can make that claim. The background and family from
which the president comes is important to how the president repre-
sents the entire nation. This chapter also will consider how the found-
ers viewed a potential familial monarchy in the United States. The
political domination of the Bush and Clinton families in recent years
goes against many of the ideas and limits that the founders put in
place. The modern presidency also offers a paradox for family presi-
dencies. Family political networks aid presidential candidates tremen-
dously, but family expectations and past failures can haunt presidencies.
Moreover, how other nations view the prominence of these two political
families in a time when the United States is trying export democracy
will also be discussed.
Chapter 3 will show why family histories matter for presidents.
Several examples of presidents and how their families impacted their
presidencies will be discussed. The current standing of the Bushes and
the Clintons will also be contrasted with other important historical,
political families including the Adams, Roosevelts, and Kennedys.
The reciprocal nature of the Bush-Clinton political relationship
will be highlighted starting with the emergence of George Herbert