Trying to be ordinary daughters

Political trivia question: do you know the names of the Bush daughters?

Jenna and Barbara are their names and aside from their run-in with underaged drinking they have largely been out of the spotlight. I suppose at some point in the future they or someone else might write a "tell-all" book about what their lives are like being the kids of the President of the United States (POTUS). Being POTUS family members means they are under a microscope and face certain security dangers most of us can't imagine.

Thus, even an ordinary thing like graduating, Jenna from UT-Austin and Barbara from Yale, is news. And of course it is news that their parent's won't attend. Hat tip to Drudge.

Why won't POTUS and the First Lady go? The security measures needed of course.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - President Bush and first lady Laura Bush will skip their twin daughters' college graduations later this month to avoid creating a distraction at the respective schools, the White House said Thursday.

"There are no plans at this time to attend these ceremonies," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for Laura Bush. "The Bushes felt the focus should be on the students, and not how long the lines are to go through the metal detectors."

Jenna Bush is slated to graduate May 22 from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in English. Barbara Bush graduates May 24 with a bachelor's in humanities from Yale University.

Congrats Jenna and Barbara. Go onto a happy and successful life!