Bush relatives urge a vote for Kerry

US Democrats are revelling in a new website on which relatives of President George Bush urge people to vote him out of office.

The distant relatives are appealing to Americans to elect Senator John Kerry when they go to the polls next Tuesday.

On the website, they urge: “Please don’t vote for our cousin.” “Bush Relatives for Kerry grew out of a series of conversations that took place between a group of people that have two things in common: they are all related to George Walker Bush, and they are all voting for John Kerry,” they write.

Those behind the web site are all grand children of Mary Bush House, the sister of Prescott Bush, who was the father and grandfather of the two Bush presidents.

They are therefore second cousins of the president.

The idea was developed after Mr Kerry spotted Sheila House’s cousin, Jeanny House, at a rally waving a sign that read ’Bush Relative for Kerry’.

They shook hands and Mr Kerry joked about creating a web site, Sheila House said.

The site includes the headline, ’Because blood is thinner than oil!’ and offers testimonials from the Bush relatives.

Tracy Cannon writes: “The overwhelming arrogance and knee jerk mentality that has consumed our government as of late will lead only to further mayhem and more rash decisions. It must stop.”

Sheila House, the president’s second cousin, said: “I don’t really feel like it’s a betrayal.”

But she added: “I’ll definitely admit that we’re using the relationship as a hook to get people to talk about politics.”