The Dynasty Question

When people discuss Jeb Bush, they naturally bring up the “dynasty question”: How can we have three presidents from one family in the space of 25 years or so? And one nuclear family, at that! The word “dynasty” is slightly problematic. We use it loosely. For example, the New York Yankees in the 1920s were a “dynasty.” They have had several other “dynastic” periods, too.

From the beginning, we have voted for Adamses, Harrisons, Roosevelts, Tafts, Kennedys, Bushes . . . Are these “dynasties”? Maybe in some loose sense, but voters have made democratic choices: They have voted for these people, as individuals, in free and often hotly contested elections.