By Paul Weiser
If (Providence forfend) Hillary Clinton becomes President, we will face an alternation of the same two families in the Presidency since 1988 - six terms, a quarter of a century. We need to consider how this ominous dynastic situation came about.
The dynastic threat was, perhaps, foreshadowed by the dynasties of Hollywood: scarcely a modern screen idol is not son or daughter to a previous star. Though quality declines by generation, the same names (or the names of divorced husbands and wives) recur. It puts one in mind of Ben Stein recounting the brutal truth (fair use, from memory):
Woman: How do I get into show business?
Stein: You have to have an agent.
W: How do I get an agent?
S: You have to be related to somebody in show business.
In national politics, the agents are election-mechanics skilled in manipulating media, advertising, law and (lately) the Web. Like any agent, they take a percentage in the form of jobs which don't require Congressional confirmation ("Senior Advisor") instead of the traditional sinecure of Postmaster-General. More to the point, like agents they hook on (as Falstaff put it) to particular families, passed around and handed down with the heirloom sliver and law firms.
Why is this dangerous, compared to old-style local pols like the Daleys of Chicago or Lyndon Johnson in Texas? Because, like the Kennedys - the first national dynasty, though it failed after one presidency - they alter the electoral rules nationwide to their advantage (assisted by useful tools like McCain and Feingold).
So, do we need an amendment requiring six degrees of separation between any candidate for President and any previous President less than fifty years back? No - but we do need an electoral system simple and transparent enough that agents will be a liability rather than an asset.
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