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| Obama has 44 cousins in the Senate. Now can't we all just get along? | Obama has 44 cousins in the Senate. Now can't we all just get along? |
| (2 months later) | |
| It’s been a tough week for the Obama family. | It’s been a tough week for the Obama family. |
| On Tuesday night, Barack Obama’s second cousin – a radiologist named Milton Wolf – lost the closer-than-expected Republican primary for US Senate in Kansas. Wolf and Obama share a relatively recent ancestor, a 19th century farm laborer named Thomas McCurry. Barack leaned left, Milton leaned right – he was a Tea Party candidate who believed his second cousin was “destroying America”. But still, they are, officially, kin. | On Tuesday night, Barack Obama’s second cousin – a radiologist named Milton Wolf – lost the closer-than-expected Republican primary for US Senate in Kansas. Wolf and Obama share a relatively recent ancestor, a 19th century farm laborer named Thomas McCurry. Barack leaned left, Milton leaned right – he was a Tea Party candidate who believed his second cousin was “destroying America”. But still, they are, officially, kin. |
| So now Barack Obama is deprived of having a cousin in the US Senate. | So now Barack Obama is deprived of having a cousin in the US Senate. |
| Or is he? | Or is he? |
| I’m working with a team of researchers who are building the biggest family tree in history. And I’ve got good news for President Obama: it turns out that the man who defeated Wolf, the incumbent Kansas senator Pat Roberts, is also his cousin. Really. Roberts is Obama’s 13th cousin, four times removed. | I’m working with a team of researchers who are building the biggest family tree in history. And I’ve got good news for President Obama: it turns out that the man who defeated Wolf, the incumbent Kansas senator Pat Roberts, is also his cousin. Really. Roberts is Obama’s 13th cousin, four times removed. |
| In fact, we’ve found that Obama has no less than 44 confirmed cousins in the Senate, including Texas Republican Ted Cruz (the husband of Obama’s 14th cousin, once removed) and Arizona Republican Jeff Flake (Obama’s eighth cousin, three times removed). And more to come. In the next few months, we plan to figure out how all 100 senators are connected to each other. One big happy, dysfunctional family. | In fact, we’ve found that Obama has no less than 44 confirmed cousins in the Senate, including Texas Republican Ted Cruz (the husband of Obama’s 14th cousin, once removed) and Arizona Republican Jeff Flake (Obama’s eighth cousin, three times removed). And more to come. In the next few months, we plan to figure out how all 100 senators are connected to each other. One big happy, dysfunctional family. |
| This senatorial family tree is now possible thanks to collaborative genealogy websites like Geni and WikiTree, where you can work with thousands of other volunteers to make connections. They are remarkable tools. If the Harry Reid on one tree is the same as the Harry Reid on another tree, you can merge trees. And then keep on combining ad infinitum. Geni’s World Family Tree is now at 78m – million! – people and growing fast. In a few years, we plan to have almost all 7bn people on earth connected in a single vast web, regardless of race, creed or political affiliation. The ultimate social network. | |
| Our thesis – and we know it’s a bit idealistic – is that when people can see how closely we’re all related, and how we share 99.9% of our DNA, we’ll treat each other with just a bit more kindness and civility. Washington DC is already so fractious and petty that if politicians realize they’re all part of the big family, that couldn’t make things any worse, right? The Senate might even become just a tad less dysfunctional. | Our thesis – and we know it’s a bit idealistic – is that when people can see how closely we’re all related, and how we share 99.9% of our DNA, we’ll treat each other with just a bit more kindness and civility. Washington DC is already so fractious and petty that if politicians realize they’re all part of the big family, that couldn’t make things any worse, right? The Senate might even become just a tad less dysfunctional. |
| Granted, Milton Wolf was not an outstanding example of our thesis. Last year, he told the Daily Beast: | Granted, Milton Wolf was not an outstanding example of our thesis. Last year, he told the Daily Beast: |
| You cannot choose your family. But you can choose to rise up and stop your family from destroying America. | You cannot choose your family. But you can choose to rise up and stop your family from destroying America. |
| And admittedly, there have been plenty of political family feuds in the past. Franklin Roosevelt campaigned against his cousin Teddy Roosevelt Jr, who was running for New York governor, calling his record “wretched”. Liz Cheney and Mary Cheney are bitterly divided on the issue of gay marriage. | And admittedly, there have been plenty of political family feuds in the past. Franklin Roosevelt campaigned against his cousin Teddy Roosevelt Jr, who was running for New York governor, calling his record “wretched”. Liz Cheney and Mary Cheney are bitterly divided on the issue of gay marriage. |
| But there have also been many, many political families that found a way to work together and support each other. The Bushes, the Kennedys, the Clintons, the current congressional (first) cousins Mark Udall and Tom Udall, who have co-sponsored legislation with each other and worked with their second cousin, Senator Mike Lee, but not their double second cousin, former Senator Gordon Smith. | But there have also been many, many political families that found a way to work together and support each other. The Bushes, the Kennedys, the Clintons, the current congressional (first) cousins Mark Udall and Tom Udall, who have co-sponsored legislation with each other and worked with their second cousin, Senator Mike Lee, but not their double second cousin, former Senator Gordon Smith. |
| Maybe we could put up a big family-tree chart in the Senate chamber to remind them of their close ties. (I’m only sort of joking.) Maybe politicians could address each other in debates by yielding their time to the senior senator from Wisconsin – and their third cousin once removed. | Maybe we could put up a big family-tree chart in the Senate chamber to remind them of their close ties. (I’m only sort of joking.) Maybe politicians could address each other in debates by yielding their time to the senior senator from Wisconsin – and their third cousin once removed. |
| Or better yet, all members of Congress should be required to come to the Global Family Reunion, which is taking place on 6 June 2015 on the grounds of the old New York World’s Fair. They would meet thousands of their relatives. Obama, who is my aunt’s fifth great aunt’s husband’s brother’s wife’s seventh great nephew, is invited. As are you, the reader. (Just go to GlobalFamilyReunion.com to see how you are related to Obama, Wolf and me – and see below for more of the president’s cousins in the Senate.) | Or better yet, all members of Congress should be required to come to the Global Family Reunion, which is taking place on 6 June 2015 on the grounds of the old New York World’s Fair. They would meet thousands of their relatives. Obama, who is my aunt’s fifth great aunt’s husband’s brother’s wife’s seventh great nephew, is invited. As are you, the reader. (Just go to GlobalFamilyReunion.com to see how you are related to Obama, Wolf and me – and see below for more of the president’s cousins in the Senate.) |
| It’s my hope and belief that our species has a built-in bias to treat known family members – even distant ones – with more humanity than strangers. (Psychology PhD candidates in need of a thesis: please test this hypothesis.) And despite Wolf’s Obama-bashing, there are glimmers of hope. | It’s my hope and belief that our species has a built-in bias to treat known family members – even distant ones – with more humanity than strangers. (Psychology PhD candidates in need of a thesis: please test this hypothesis.) And despite Wolf’s Obama-bashing, there are glimmers of hope. |
| Consider Milton Wolf’s own mom, Anna McCurry Wolf. She was much more excited than her son to be Obama’s cousin. While Obama was Senator, she went to Washington DC with her friends to meet him. He gave her a copy of his book, hugged her and said to her friends, “Now, you guys take care of my cousin.” | Consider Milton Wolf’s own mom, Anna McCurry Wolf. She was much more excited than her son to be Obama’s cousin. While Obama was Senator, she went to Washington DC with her friends to meet him. He gave her a copy of his book, hugged her and said to her friends, “Now, you guys take care of my cousin.” |
| Those of us building the global family tree have seen this first-hand, at least anecdotally. To take an admittedly trivial example, I always thought John McEnroe was an insufferable man-child. But when I found out he’s 24 degrees away from me, it changed my outlook. Maybe he’s grown up, I said to myself. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. He hasn’t thrown a public tantrum in years. | Those of us building the global family tree have seen this first-hand, at least anecdotally. To take an admittedly trivial example, I always thought John McEnroe was an insufferable man-child. But when I found out he’s 24 degrees away from me, it changed my outlook. Maybe he’s grown up, I said to myself. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. He hasn’t thrown a public tantrum in years. |
| Then, a few weeks ago, I went down to Houston to interview my distant cousin, George HW Bush (just 19 steps away through marriage!). I told the former president that he’s eighth cousins with Bill Clinton. He seemed pleased. His wife Barbara Bush chimed in, saying, “I always thought he might be my son from another mother. So I’m not surprised.” | Then, a few weeks ago, I went down to Houston to interview my distant cousin, George HW Bush (just 19 steps away through marriage!). I told the former president that he’s eighth cousins with Bill Clinton. He seemed pleased. His wife Barbara Bush chimed in, saying, “I always thought he might be my son from another mother. So I’m not surprised.” |
| We won’t save the world with genealogy, but maybe we can make it, as my cousin Bush once said, a kinder and gentler place. | We won’t save the world with genealogy, but maybe we can make it, as my cousin Bush once said, a kinder and gentler place. |
| All of Barack Obama’s cousins in the US Senate (so far)* | All of Barack Obama’s cousins in the US Senate (so far)* |
| * These connections were found by researchers at Geni.com and WikiTree.com. We strive for accuracy (even more than the Senate itself), but if you have any corrections, please contact GlobalFamilyReunion.com. | * These connections were found by researchers at Geni.com and WikiTree.com. We strive for accuracy (even more than the Senate itself), but if you have any corrections, please contact GlobalFamilyReunion.com. |