Oh, Brother

Virtually everyone I know, besides myself, has an embarrassing relative or two. It's probably a good thing I'm off that particular list...I do an excellent job of embarrassing myself, with no help necessary from anyone else.

There does seem to be a particular demographic which is absolutely plagued with familial black sheep...U.S. Presidents. President Obama was the latest victim of a long, illustrious line of presidents with problem siblings, when his half-brother was arrested in Kenya on drug charges.

Billy Carter may be the most famous of the underachieving presidential siblings, as he used a combination of his brother's P.R. and his own self-deprication to launch a line of beer and a book, "Redneck Power: The Wit and Wisdom of Billy Carter." Unfortunately for Billy, public interest in him waned at about the same time his brother's term was up, and "Billy Beer" got poured down the drain.

There are more, of course: both President George W. Bush and President Clinton had siblings who often fell afoul of the law. Lyndon B. Johnson solved this problem by keeping his brother, Sam Houston, a virtual prisoner of the White House, to keep him out of trouble and the public eye.

So, the next time your five-year-old sister flashes your new boyfriend to show him her pretty new underpants, or your mother insists on showing your friends her collection of your early fingerpaintings, don't worry about it...it may just be a sign that you're on your way to an illustrious White House career.

Jacquelyn Sylvan is the author of Surviving Serendipity, available at Amazon and Quake Direct!