By Michael P. Riccards

When he was named pope, Angelo Roncalli was told by his aides that as John XXIII he could grant all sorts of honors and titles to his peasant family, His response was typical of the man — they had the honor of having a pope in the family; that was enough honor.

One would think that having a president in the family would be rewarding enough in the United States, Without holding up Italian and Vatican politics as an exemplar, it is obvious what is being done in our nation. We have become so preoccupied with influence peddling, with success rather than earned promotion, and with connections rather than expertise that influence has become a way of life.

The recent plea bargaining involving Hunter Biden, the embarrassingly wayward son of the president, has left the executive open to charges of abuse of office. After months of charges and countercharges, especially from the Trumpite wing of the GOP, Hunter’s penalty seems to come too little and too late, The first family simply proclaimed that they love him, which probably speaks for emotion rather than the law.

Hunter Biden has settled with the Department of Justice attorneys. First, he has pleaded guilty to not paying his tax for 2010 and 2011. How a man of such modest achievements earned enough money to be $200,000 in the hole is strange. And he admitted being guilty of purchasing a gun while under the influence of drugs. A girlfriend of his has testified that he tossed the gun into a dumpster in Washington D.C.

The first son has a long history of being kicked out of the army, taking money from foreign governments for facilitating their conversation with “the big guy,” who is presumably the father, divorcing his long-suffering wife, and engaging in a romantic association with the widow of his older brother. He is a role model to no one.

One may ask: Is he unique? Unfortunately, it appears that there have been many associational slip-ups in the White House.

• Lincoln’s oldest son Robert failed 15 out of 16 subject tests to get into Harvard College, so the president sent him to Philips Exeter, then a preparatory school for the Ivies. Lo and behold after a year he was admitted to Harvard. It must be an example of remedial education at its best.
• Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter Alice was impossible for the president to control. As he observed: he could either spend his time riding herd on Alice or serving the country as president.
• Woodrow Wilson had to put a stop to his daughter’s socializing in Paris.
• The record of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt as parents is woefully deficient, and their children had more divorces chalked up than marriages it seems. One of the Roosevelt children said that Eleanor was uninterested in her brood, and Franklin would listen to their problems if they wished but made no suggestions.
• The most interesting case is Dwight Eisenhower, whose older brother was a rabid right-wing Republican and whose other brother was a liberal intellectual and college president.
• And of course, John Kennedy appointed his brother Robert attorney general – nepotism at its most flagrant. But the president simply responded that his father demanded it, and he of course had bankrolled his campaign.
• The most interesting though is a Hunter Biden character — Billy Carter. The self-righteous Jimmy Carter had to admit that his brother compromised his administration by taking a retainer from Libya. Then he regaled the nation with “Billy Beer,” a drink for a man’s man.

It appears that presidents have a difficult time not allowing their fame to spill over to relatives. It is best to elect an only child who remains a bachelor or a maiden.  

Michael P. Riccards, a former college president. is the author of 30 books, including a two-volume history of the presidency, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy, and the recently published Woodrow Wilson as Commander-in-Chief. Riccards wrote this article for the Jandoli Institute.

Categories: Jandoli Institute, Media, Michael Riccards, Politics