Why Aren't These Girls In Uniform?

How can you grow up in a family like this, and still apparently have no perspective on politics: WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Shielded for years from public view, President Bush's twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, have broken their silence in an interview, describing a karaoke party at Camp David and how they surprised their father by deciding to join his campaign.

"It's not like he [Bush] called me up and asked me," Jenna told Vogue magazine in the twins' first joint interview, released Tuesday.

"They've never wanted to throw us into that world, and I think our decision probably shocked them. But I love my dad, and I think I'd regret it if I didn't do this."

Bush is protective of his 22-year-old daughters, and White House press secretary Scott McClellan has asked the media to "show respect" as they emerge from private life as students to work at Bush's campaign headquarters in the Washington suburbs.

Barbara made her campaign trail debut Tuesday in Michigan. Jenna joined Bush last week on a bus tour of the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

"Strangely, politics and family life never crossed," said Jenna in the interview, which will appear in Vogue's August issue and includes a glossy photo spread featuring the twins posing in formal dresses as well as more casual clothes.

She described how their 20th birthday party was held at the Camp David presidential retreat less than three months after the September 11 attacks.

"We had 20 of our friends, and there was a really nice dinner and a karaoke machine afterward, and of course my dad had a sports tournament for the guys," Jenna said.

"He's so competitive, so active. He was stressed out, I know, but we still had the party."

Mom 'has funny quirks'

Jenna said her parents have the "best marriage," citing as proof that "my dad thinks my mom's funny even though she's really not -- she's cute, she has funny quirks."

Jenna said her mother would tell them to clean their bedrooms.

"I call her OCD [obsessive-compulsive disorder] to her face, but I'm glad now, because some of it's rubbed off on me," she said.

Jenna also described how the president interacted with the girls' boyfriends.

"He's not the shotgun-dad type, he's the joking-around-to-the-point-where-he-scares-the-heck-out-of-them type."

There has sometimes been tension between Bush and the media over coverage of his daughters, especially when both had run-ins with the law over alcohol three years ago.

In an incident in Austin, Texas, in 2001, Barbara was sentenced to perform community service and attend an alcohol awareness class, while Jenna, who had been found with a false ID, was fined $600 and lost her driver's license for 30 days.

The only "drink" referred to in the Vogue interview are soy lattes, which the twins get at Starbucks.
President Bush and daughter Jenna depart from White House for a day trip to Pennsylvania on July 9.

Vogue said they are far better traveled than their parents were at their age. Barbara's graduation trip included stops in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, and Prague, Czech Republic. Jenna went to Spain.

Barbara, who majored in humanities at Yale, said she planned to sign up for a program in which she would work in Eastern Europe and Africa with children afflicted with AIDS.

"We thought it would be better to wait [to start] until after November," Barbara said of the presidential election.

Jenna, who has an English degree from the University of Texas, plans to teach.

"I'm just not political," said Jenna. "I have opinions, but there's nothing about the process that has ever interested me. I'm 22, and this is the first interview I've ever done in my life."

Not everyone who supports the war needs to become a member of the Armed Forces and wear a uniform.

The implications are flawed. Your attack on the President's daughters is irrelevant and not worthy except for the author's embarassment.

Rich man's war, poor man's fight. They lie, we die. Smash the ruling class. Revolution now!

They can do more to support this war in their dresses then to pump diesel into a tank in a uniform.

silly you!

They are doing what they believe in, in their most efficient manner. hey..that is something YOU are NOT doing! They are better than you

Damn right they're doing what they believe in! They believe in staying OUT of the army, and that's exactly what they're doing.

"They believe in staying OUT of the army, and that's exactly what they're doing"

You have no proof of that conjecture.

I bet you believe in the Palestinian cause. So therefore YOU should join Hammas. Is that your logic? Your logic is flawed. Your argument is not worthy. They are better than you.

The Bush daughters have started campaigning for their dad. They are doing more substantial work (even if you disagree with the content) than you are. What did you do today to further your beliefs? Unless you accomplished more than helping convince many many people of the worthiness of the conflict as it pertains to the big picture, then they have validated their premise more than you. You convinced nobody here... actually you did the opposite. Hence....they are "more accomplished" than you. You may not like to see it or hear it, but it is true. You can be as defensive as you want, but the facts remain.

Many years ago I incorrectly assumed that the US armed forces defended our freedoms, and I joined the USMC and served for 4 years. Since then I've read "WAR IS A RACKET" by General Smedley Butler. Nowadays I attend peace demonstrations, sometimes carrying a sign reading "Ex Marine against the War."

However, there's just one thing I could never quite understand, not then and not now either. -- That there are people who advocate sending others to fight a war that they themselves avoid.

you said, "I joined the USMC and served for 4 years. Since then I've read "WAR IS A RACKET" by General Smedley Butler."

You were never REALLY a Marine then as they have a bond that can not be broken. Rather.... you are weak. As you display by you attendence at the protests

So how do you like Bush? -- our Deserter-in-Chief.
Or better yet, Cheney, a guy who had better things to do than to put on a uniform.
Tell me what you think of those chicken hawks.

And by the way, care to tell us about your own illustrious military career?

"And by the way, care to tell us about your own illustrious military career?"

Yes, our leaders are keeping you safe dickhead. You have just proved you are not an ex-Marine, a REAL Marine would have been defensive about my comments. You are a weak liar.

I am aSgt in the Army just returned from Iraq, was assigned to the 323 Chemical Div. I spent 14 months putting my life on the line so you can act like a weakling here. Some day you will become responsible and deserve a family, until then, do not breed.

Go back inside your cheap car and drive to your below average job.

Remember, it is not "flaming" when they are accurate comments. Meanwhile, Bushes daughters are better than you and accomplishing more than you for their respective causes.

You are to be pitied for your lack of adherence to the principles you (supposedly) vowed to maintain.

It's a trap:

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