A Los Angeles Times editorial brings up this point on an underlying, usually unspoken issue raised by Hollywood bigwig and Barack Obama supporter David Geffen in his controversial comments about Hillary Clinton:
Geffen was on to something with his passing mention of the fact that Obama is not from “the Bush royal family” or the “Clinton royal family.” Regardless of what you think of Bill Clinton’s presidency, or his wife’s talent, the dynastic aspect of Hillary Clinton’s candidacy is an issue that will increasingly come to occupy center stage in this campaign. Is the country prepared to be governed, potentially, for 28 years by two families who alternate turns in the White House?
The Clinton campaign appears unwilling to acknowledge this concern. The candidate likes talking to audiences about whether the nation is ready for a female president. But the question of whether the country is ready to perpetuate the dueling-family reign by voting in the former president’s spouse is disingenuously left off the table. Maybe Hillary Clinton can make the case that she is the most qualified candidate, but she is going to have to find a way to address the dynastic issue directly. She can’t have it both ways — trading on her husband’s popularity but not acknowledging people’s unease at turning the White House into a family business.
UPDATE: Read Dick Polman’s analysis of the Clinton/Geffen/Obama skirmis.
And also read former magazine editor Robert Stein’s take on it — and thoughts on politicians’ and Hollywood types.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.