Columnist Susan Snyder: This issue handled with kid gloves

Susan Snyder's column also appears Tuesdays and Fridays in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach her at [email protected] or 259-4082.

Local experts say President Bush's twin daughters should have known better, but the American media and public ought to back off.

Which experts? Well, a handful of 17- and 18-year-old Las Vegas Academy journalism students. Most were seniors who graduate this week and will become college freshman in the fall, just as Jenna and Barbara Bush are now.

The students shuddered at the thought of Secret Service agents lurking in the background and having every adolescent gaffe splayed across the front page.

"I think (the twins) deserve whatever punishment their parents want to inflict on them," Zulla Getahun, a 17-year-old junior, said. "But I don't think we should stick our nose into anybody's personal business. It's so rude."

Jenna and Barbara, both 19, were popped in a Mexican restaurant late last week for violating Texas liquor laws. Barbara, a freshman at Yale University, was accused of being a minor in possession of alcohol.

Jenna, a University of Texas freshman, reportedly tried to use a fake ID to buy an adult beverage at the Austin establishment. It's her second offense in a month. She already must perform community service and attend alcohol awareness classes.

(I'm thinking she's pretty aware of it already, but the judge knows best.)

However, being first kids shouldn't mean having to be ideal kids, the Las Vegas students say. The Bush girls were caught doing something many of their peers do across the country. And Jenna, whom a couple called "the wild child," is receiving an unfair amount of public scrutiny.

"She should be a regular kid. She didn't get elected anything," Jonathan Cuk, an 18-year-old senior, said.

"If she messes up, well, it's her life," said classmate Kiersten Hall, who turns 18 this month. "Nobody's perfect."

"Her father certainly wasn't," Cuk added.

Ouch.

The Bush twins' biggest mistake was getting caught, said senior Chris Lackey, 17.

"I think (Jenna) should've known better. It's not like nobody would find out," he said.

Yeah, it's kind of hard to pass yourself off as someone else in the capital city of a state where your dad was governor before he became the most powerful man in the world. (Insert willies here.)

"I would hope they will get some control over (Jenna's recreational activities), since they are always talking about this 'family values' thing," Cuk said.

"What's really important is (Jenna) should be treated fairly under the law. What's not fair is the media puts her up to a spotlight. She wasn't elected."

He has a point. The Bush girls are celebrities by default, not design. It's a hefty burden atop the challenges of being a teenager.

Still, the whole nation will be watching them, just as we watched Chelsea, Amy and the Kennedy kids. White House spokesmen say this is a "private family matter." But when you exploit your family and its values to win a campaign, it's hard to close the blinds afterward.

No, it's not fair.

But then, being the president's daughters cannot be misunderestimated. (At least Dad didn't teach them how to spell.)

archive