Bush girls lose White House battle of the daughters

THE war for the White House is being fought on many fronts, and among the battles is that between the Bush twins and the Kerry daughters.

President George W Bush and his Democratic challenger John Kerry know the value of family in a political campaign.

And the daughters of both men have vowed to do all they can to help get their fathers elected at the November poll, even if it meant being booed for their appeals to young voters at the MTV Music Awards in Miami at the weekend. The 22-year-old Bush twins, Jenna and Barbara, took to the stage at the Republican national convention early yesterday.

They had a tough act to follow from July’s Democratic convention, when Vanessa and Alexandra Kerry, aged 27 and 30, gave a charming, funny, winning performance. In contrast, the Bush twins, just out of university, looked uncomfortable as they stood before thousands of delegates in New York City.

Barbara picked up: “Jenna and I are really not very political, but we love our dad too much to stand back and watch from the sidelines.”

She tried again: “When your dad’s a Republican and you go to Yale, you learn to stand up for yourself.

“I knew I wasn’t quite ready to be president, but number two sounded pretty good.

“Who is this man they call Dick Cheney?” she asked to polite chuckles.

Even their attempts to tell of the closeness of the Bush family fell flat.

It was hardly a show-stopping performance and one political pundit suggested that whoever wrote their speech should be fired.

The polls show Mr Bush and Mr Kerry are neck and neck in the race for the White House.

But there is little doubt among the pundits as to who has won the battle of the daughters.