Opinion: Those wacky Rodham boys

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s endorsement today of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential bid naturally raised the question of whether California’s other Democratic senator, Barbara Boxer, is prepared to declare her allegiance to one of her party’s White House contenders.

As The Times’ Scott Martelle noted in his story on Feinstein’s move, Boxer is opting to remain neutral. What makes that somewhat surprising is that Boxer has familial links to Clinton --- the California senator’s daughter, Nicole Boxer, once was married to the New York senator’s brother, Tony Rodham. Their one child, Zachary Boxer Rodham, is, of course,the grandson of Barbara Boxer and the nephew of Hillary Clinton.

This was the second time this week that we were reminded of Clinton’s brothers (she’s the oldest of three, followed by Hugh and Tony). The first reminder was provided by a New Republic piece that takes a trip down the memory lane of all the headaches her siblings often have caused Clinton, especially when she was first lady.

The article quotes a former official from Bill Clinton’s administration as saying, ‘You never wanted to hear their name come up in any context other than playing golf.’

Hillary Clinton, of course, is not the first public figure to be embarrassed by the antics of siblings. Husband Bill, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and even George W. Bush have brothers who’ve made negative news over the years. But as the current campaign progresses, it’ll be worth watching if Hillary’s brothers crop up in even more embarrassing contexts, as has been their penchant.

-- Don Frederick

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