Presidential pimpin' for pop

It's getting closer and closer to Nov. 2, and the stumping is getting more and more heated (read: panicked.)\nAnd now, George W. Bush and John Kerry are dragging their kids into it. Not dragging, per se, because I think the kids are doing it voluntarily, but the presidential offspring are definitely getting into it, and their involvement irritates me. I was almost as irritated as when I found out Brooks & Dunn were playing a gig at the Republican National Convention. (Why? I know many country music fans are Republicans, but from now on out, whenever I hear, "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone," I'll be thinking "I bet they're singing that for Dubya.")\nIn this month's Seventeen magazine, Jenna and Barbara Bush and Vanessa Kerry wrote two one-page columns under the heading, "Real Life: Why you should vote for my father!" It makes sense, though, especially with this year's tidal wave of youth-voting initiatives (Seventeen provided the Web address to www.declareyourself.com), for the candidates to use the pretty faces and gleaming smiles of their children to campaign. But is it wise?\nWhile the Bush twins got to go first, Vanessa Kerry clearly came out on top. Granted, she's a third-year student at Harvard Medical School and the twins both just graduated from college. The accompanying photos in the magazine show the Bush twins posing with their father, smiling, and Vanessa Kerry saying the Pledge of Allegiance with her father. Miss Kerry came off shining, and the Bush twins came off as charming propagandists. \nCase in point: The Bush twins wrote: "A few years ago, we were astonished to find out that girls in Afghanistan were prohibited from going to school. When our country helped to liberate these girls, giving them a chance to learn, we were filled with pride."\nCompare: Vanessa wrote: "Before I tell you why I think you should vote for my father in November, I want to make sure that you're registered to vote."\nShe then talks about some of her father's plans for his term, and she finishes with, "And (Kerry) and I know that our best days are ahead of us because young people like you are ready to lead America to a better day." \nThe twins finish up, "(Bush) wants to make sure the world is safe and we all have every opportunity to succeed. That's what makes him a great dad -- and a great president."\nI'm just more inclined to believe Vanessa Kerry, no matter who her father is. I spent the summer in Spain, and even in Europe, the picture of Jenna Bush sticking her tongue out at a press corps made the papers. Both twins have past arrests for underage drinking, Ashton Kutcher bragged to Rolling Stone in May about the girls hitting the hookah at his house, and Jenna made an appearance in Vanity Fair's July issue in an article on French resort town Saint-Tropez ("But the apex of decadence is the Caves du Roy, whose energy has inspired Jenna Bush to guzzle a $250 bottle of vodka"). I'm remiss to call the twins brats, but I think they may be brats. I guess I believe a bit more in Vanessa simply because I've never heard of her. I also know that Vanessa Kerry has a bit of age on them and probably exorcized her youthful hijinks years ago. With a low-profile persona and the ability to sound like a young activist rather than just a kid stumping for dad, she lends an air of credibility to the whole shebang.\nPresidential children shouldn't be dragged into the mess any more than presidential spouses should be, but if they already have mud on their faces, don't drag them down into the mire of campaigning and expect them to emerge unscathed.