If a Clinton were to marry a Bush, the US could cancel elections

With apologies to their respective spouses, if Jeb Bush’s son, George P. Bush, had married Chelsea Clinton, Americans could have spared themselves the spectacle of Election 2016 and saved billions of dollars.

All that the USA needs now is for a young Clinton to pair up with a junior Bush. Should the union produce an heir, a single line of monarchy would be established. This is the reality of the USA’s broken politics in 2015. A country pretty much established in opposition to hereditary elites now has the most closed political system in the Western world.

In the past, America's strange obsession with the British Royal Family was usually explained by fact that the US has no monarchy of its own. The bad news for Queen Elizabeth's bunch is that this is increasingly the case in name only.

Hillary heads the market

Right now, Hillary Clinton is close to an even money favorite to become the next American President. The only other short-odds candidate appears to be Jeb Bush. After the former Florida governor there’s a clutch of outsiders like Rand Paul, Scott Walker and Marco Rubio filling out the field. It's depressing on so many levels.

Should Hillary, as expected, secure the White House and serve two terms it’ll mean that America will have been ruled by either a Bush or Clinton for 28 out of 36 years. The only break coming during the 8-year Obama Presidency. Of course, the former first lady served as Secretary of State for half of Obama's reign.

Despite a common misconception that the Roosevelts, Teddy and Franklin D, were close relatives, (they weren’t) keeping things in the family has not been the American way. In fact, George Bush Senior was the first President since FDR to have been born into the politically-connected WASP elite. Instead, post-war American Presidents have tended to be outsiders, coming from left field. Think Reagan, Nixon and Carter, for instance.

Even the ultimate ‘silver-spoon’ Commander-in-Chief, John F. Kennedy, was far from an insider by dint of his Catholic religion. Indeed, despite their great wealth and celebrity, the Kennedy clan never came close to establishing the kind of dynasty that the Bush family has managed. However, the Boston brood remains powerful in the world of baby kissers and it's commonly accepted that the late Edward was pivotal in securing Obama’s nomination for the 2008 contest.

Adding to the hypocrisy, Hillary’s initial campaign slogan is that “Everyday Americans need a champion.”

Clinton's common touch?

In Clinton’s launch video, she laments the fact that “the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top” of the economy. These statements come from a woman who has a personal fortune of up to $25 million, according to her 2013 final disclosure report. This figure doesn’t even include the proceeds of her memoirs.

Chelsea is also far removed from the reality of contemporary American life. Again in 2013, the former First Daughter purchased a $10 million apartment near Manhattan’s Madison Avenue. Chelsea and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, were upgrading from a $4 million pad nearby. The Daily Mail indicates that if the Mezvinsky-Clintons have a mortgage on the property, it would cost $60,000 per month to service. According to the United Nations, the average US monthly wage is $4,695.

While Barack Obama’s 2012 election cost an eye-watering $1.1 billion, Hillary is reported to be aiming for an other-worldly $2.5 billion. This is more than the entire annual GDP of Liberia, a former African-American colony. Liberia has 4 million people.

Not to be outdone by Chelsea, Hillary and her husband, ex-President Bill, are known to own at least 3 homes. One in Washington and two in New York - a Manhattan apartment and a house in Chappaqua. The latter has 5 bedrooms and takes up around 550sqm. Their 3-story Washington abode boasts 6 bathrooms and homes in the area are valued at around $6 million by the real estate website, Trulia.

The figures seem mind-boggling because they are. Except, of course, for those in the one percent whom the Clintons really represent. When you compare her lifestyle to those ‘everyday Americans’ she claims to care about, the two faces of Hillary Clinton become apparent.

The contrast between Hillary, who wants to become the world’s most powerful woman, and the current holder of the title, Angela Merkel, is stark. Merkel, unlike Clinton, practices what she preaches. The pastor’s daughter lives in a relatively humble central Berlin apartment, eschewing the far more luxurious Federal Chancellery building, which offers a grace and favor dwelling.

Ask a group of people, who is wealthier, the Bush or Clinton families? I’d venture that 8 out of 10 would say the Bushes. While Bill and Hillary espouse a pseudo-left wing doctrine, their Republican counterparts are perceived as being far more capitalist. That perception is wrong. George W. Bush is worth less than half what Bill Clinton has to hand and Jeb Bush wasn’t actually super wealthy at all until recently.

The struggling rich

As Wire tells it upon leaving office as Florida governor in 2007, the Texas-born banker felt poor as he was barely a millionaire. What ensued was an attempt to make a lot of money, quickly. Hillary has also considered herself impoverished after Bill exited the White House. Both Jeb and Clinton mastered the same route of rapid enrichment.

Bush sat on six company boards at once as he tried to reel in cash. He also acted as an advisor to Lehman Brothers. You will remember them as the financial firm whose collapse helped trigger the Great Financial Crash of 2008. Additionally, Jeb made numerous paid-speeches, following the Clinton’s path.

Assuming the 2016 election will be Hillary vs. Jeb, expect not only a clash of America’s two great modern political dynasties. The other contest will see corporations like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Barclay’s going toe to toe. These companies gave the Clintons and Bushes their fortunes. Remember, who pays the piper calls the tune.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.