http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/26/clinton_criticizes_obama_over_his_pastors_inflammatory_words/
Gilded branches found on candidates' family trees
Barack Obama likes to joke that he and Vice President Dick Cheney are distant cousins.
It turns out that he and the other major presidential contenders share lineage with several other famous historical figures and current celebrities, the New England Historic Genealogical Society said yesterday.
Obama, whose mother was born in Kansas, has at least six presidents as distant cousins, including President Bush and his father; Gerald Ford; Lyndon Johnson; Harry Truman; and James Madison.
Hillary Clinton has common ancestors with actress Angelina Jolie and Camilla Parker-Bowles, wife of Prince Charles. Because Clinton's family has French-Canadian heritage, she is also distantly related to "On the Road" author Jack Kerouac and pop stars Madonna, Celine Dion, and Alanis Morissette.
John McCain is a sixth cousin of Laura Bush, the genealogical society said. The fact that most of his ancestry is Southern makes "notable connections somewhat harder to trace because of challenges to genealogists in that region," genealogist Christopher Child said.
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