Bush vs. Clinton: Hatfields and McCoys for 2016

Since Jeb Bush announced yesterday he’ll begin actively exploring a 2016 presidential campaign, and Hillary Clinton is most likely running as well, what would a Bush versus Clinton race look like this time around?

This report from MSNBC has some answers:

In their respective party primaries, Bush and Clinton would run on parallel tracks – close to the middle while taking flack from the flanks – and in a general election, they might neutralize each others’ biggest strengths and weaknesses, since they share so many.

The Bush and Clinton families have become close since either one occupied the White House. Bill Clinton has made a habit of visiting George H.W. Bush at his home in Maine every summer, while Jeb Bush literally presented Hillary Clinton with an award.

“Bill’s father wasn’t around,” Barbara Bush told CSPAN of the man who pushed her husband out of office. “I think he thinks of George a little bit like the father he didn’t have.” She added: “I love Bill Clinton.”

George W. Bush calls Bill Clinton his “brother from another mother” and Hillary Clinton his “sister-in-law,” while he and his predecessor clearly enjoyed each others’ presence at a joint appearance in September to launch a scholars program run jointly by their presidential libraries.

[Emphasis added]

Jeb Bush chairs the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, which presented Hillary Clinton with an award in March. “Hillary and I come from different political parties, and we disagree about a few things, but we do agree on the wisdom of the American people — especially those in Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina,” Bush joked.

Basically once you spend a term or two in the White House, you’re in the elite club of the few people on earth who have had that privilege. As a result, with the Clintons occupying the Oval Office eight years, and the Bush family occupying the same post a combined total of twelve years, it’s no wonder the two political dynasties have become quite chummy over the decades. After all, every time they take a photo of all living Presidents, you’re probably going to run into someone you know if your last name is Bush or Clinton.