Enron’s boy at the New York Times, Paul Krugman, is upset at conservatives again (so, what else is new?) The issue: some of the children of prominent conservatives have jobs in government or media. For shame.
Just ask the Bush brothers. Talk to Elizabeth Cheney, who holds a specially created State Department job, or her husband, chief counsel of the Office of Management and Budget. Interview Eugene Scalia, the top lawyer at the Labor Department, and Janet Rehnquist, inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services. And don’t forget to check in with William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, and the conservative commentator John Podhoretz.
Krugman has a real good point, but he’s only uncovered the tip of the iceberg. What about Barry Bonds? His father Bobby was a major leaguer, and incoming Giants manager Felipe Alou once played in the bigs with two brothers, Matty and Jesus. J. T. Snow’s daddy Jack played pro football with the Rams, and that reprobate David Bell is a third generation big leaguer, scion of Buddy and Gus. Some dude in the last Winter Olympics is a third generation Olympian, and the US Curling team is lousy with nepotism.
Even Hollywood, where everyone is virtuous, holy, and shrill is riddled with nepotism: look at Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler, Melanie Griffin, the Bridges boys, Laura Dern, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Douglas and all of those Baldwins, not to mention the sons of President Bartlett.
In auto racing, all it takes to be a winner is a name like Petty, Earnhardt, or Andretti, and you’re in. Business leader Bill Gates comes from the most prominent business lawyer on the West Coast, and Esther Dyson’s dad was a great physics guy.
And don’t even get me started on horse racing.
Yes, Krugman is onto something, and it’s big – talent may very well not be a social construct, and the revelation of that fact could be the downfall of the whole postmodern enterprise. We better nip this in the bud, or no telling what might happen. We might even elect leaders who exercise America’s global power responsibly instead of chasing interns, or even worse, refuse to bomb aspirin factories in third world countries.
This alert via Mr. Sullivan, who also links a great piece about Eminem and Al Gore.
Too true!
It’s all in a name, some of us change our surname when it is convenient or necessary to reach our ultimate goal. Once we reach the goal, we move on to another name.
So if I change my name to “Jack Steel” or “Max Power”, can I be a CEO, please, pretty please..?
(snigger, snort..!)
I’ve got a whole family (3 generations) that works/worked as public servants. I tried the private sector for 5 years and wasn’t satisfied, so I joined the military and I’ve been here for 8 years and counting. My sister tried the educational route, and she wasn’t satisfied, so she’s trying the diplomatic route now. My brother has spent 12 of the last 15 years serving his country overseas. And the list goes on, all the way back to my grandparents when they came over from the old country. And alot of the people I grew up with overseas (did I mention, I’m the son of a 30-year career diplomat?) are the same way; they are now in the State Department or military.
My point, as is yours, is that it’s in my family’s blood to serve our country in government. It’s not nepotism; it’s a way of life.