![]() ![]() "Almost all presidents have had a black sheep for a brother, sister or child," said Hess. This is something families go through every day." No matter what he's done, I love my father. Another son was an alcoholic who knocked up a woman and committed suicide."Īndrew told ABC News that, "We are both working on our relationship. "John Adams' one son, John Quincy Adams, became president of the United States. "One child can follow in their father's footsteps, the other may not," said Hess. Even William Henry Harrison's grandson Benjamin was elected president. Wead is author of "All the President's Children." His historical research found "higher than average rates of divorce and alcoholism and even premature death." He wrote, "Some presidential children seemed bent on self-destruction."īut the impact on the candidate is not necessarily lasting. "Being related to a president more problems than opportunities," said Doug Wead, a former aide to Bush. Giuliani's three marriages have already become somewhat of an issue and been politically exploited by the wife of candidate Mitt Romney, who noted that her husband "had only one wife." It doesn't tell us much about Rudy Giuliani that we don't already know." "At some point, 'family-value Republicans' will ask some questions about Giuliani's personal life but they won't need young Giuliani's comments to make a case. Hess, a professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, questions whether it will make a difference. ![]() "This is more about divorce than politics," said Stephen Hess. Who hasn't had an issue with their parents? Second, in a nation where more people are getting divorced than married, a lot of voters will likely be sympathetic to family discord. "Generally, comments by a child like this will be taken with lots of grains of salt." Giuliani Family Values "It's too early to see if this will have an effect," said Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. The reality is that the sins of the children are rarely visited on their fathers come election day.įirst, the election is many months down the road. William Henry Harrison called his son "the destruction of my hopes."īut Americans are a forgiving lot. Amy Carter flunked out of Brown and was known as a spoiled brat who went on to get arrested at several anti-nuke rallies. Billy Carter exploited his "first-brother" status to sell Billy Beer and arms to rogue nations. Roger Clinton accepted an invitation to North Korea. The list of first family follies goes on and on. Humiliating for their father who had his own history with alcohol, but not destructive at the polls. President Bush's daughters Jenna and Barbara tried to illegally order margaritas at a Texas restaurant in June 2001. Embarrassing to her father perhaps, but it did not derail his bid for re-election. Ronald Reagan's daughter Patti Davis took drugs, posed nude for Playboy Magazine and penned erotic novels. History may reveal a different conclusion. "It's a real first strike against the candidate, puts them in a deep dark hole right off the bat," presidential historian Douglas Brinkley told ABC News. The responsibility is mine." Will There Be Repercussions?Īlmost immediately political pundits pounced on Andrew's revelation and said it could seriously hurt Giuliani's campaign. His father, in Los Angeles on a campaign stop, told reporters, "My wife Judith is a very loving and caring. "There's obviously a little problem that exists between me and his wife," Andrew said. ![]() The strain in the father-son relationship apparently is due to the former New York City mayor's decision to divorce his wife, Donna Hanover, and marry Judith Nathan. Andrew, a student at Duke University, told ABC News that he does "not want to hurt" his father, but he's also not about to keep quiet. Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani's 21-year-old son Andrew told The New York Times that while he supports his father, he is "too busy with golf" to be part of his campaign. ![]()
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