Pol Paternity

Traditionally it is a cakewalk for the kid if the daddy was a bit time pol. But if that's the rule there are exceptions.

Among the more entertaining was the on-again, off-now (and probably forever) saga of a handicapped spend-and-don't-tax son running against his tax-and-spend father for Westchester (N.Y.) county executive in the day-time drama known as Spano v. Spano. However, there is competition for the more farcical pol inheritance coming from Gabon as Ali-Ben Bongo runs virtually unopposed for the seat from which his father ruthlessly exploited the country. His platform seems mainly to be that his late dad wasn't the scumbag he is often portrayed to be by "traitors."

Less amusing, just pathetic, is the likely fate of Rory Reid, who is 21 points down in the most recent poll of likely voters who will decide his chances of being Nevada governor. Papa Reid, the U.S. Senate majority leader, is also apparently polling pretty low, but at least so far he has nobody to run against him in his upcoming (re)election campaign.

Speculating about the elder Reid's campaign — and whether disgust for him is hurting his son's chances — leads (sorta) naturally to thinking about the chances for a political career for the youngest of John Edwards children. [Earlier: Judgment Days] His youngest, the baby girl he fathered with mistress Rielle Hunter, is already getting pretty comfortable in front of the cameras, but she has yet to announce her positions on the issues of the day.

Let the campaigns begin.