Opinion: Barack Obama related to Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and George W. Bush, ancestory website claims

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Guess who’s coming to the family reunion?

It wasn’t that long ago that it was discovered that President Obama was related to Vice President Dick Cheney. Late-night talk-show hosts had a field day in their monologues, and even the politicians joked about it.

Now comes the claim that the president is related to none other than former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. According to the Associated Press, Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at Ancestry.com, says the president and the hockey mom are 10th cousins by way of common ancestor Pastor John Smith, who settled in Massachusetts in the 17th century.

‘Smith was against the persecution of the Quakers,’ Tyler said in an interview. ‘He was a very socially conscious man.’

And if that weren’t weird enough, Tyler is also claiming that conservative radio legend Rush Limbaugh is also a 10th cousin of President Obama, once removed. Their link is through a 17th century Virginian named Richmond Terrell whose history is ‘a little more nebulous,’ Tyler said.

Isn’t Obama related to any liberals? Probably, but the info from the the Utah-based website just gets stranger. According to the Associated Press report, the site also is reporting that President George W. Bush is also related to Obama and Palin. The two presidents are 11th cousins through common ancestor Samuel Hinckly, Smith’s father-in-law. Bush and Palin are 10th cousins once removed.

Since Thanksgiving is just a tad more than a month away, what do you think are the odds that President Obama invites his cousins over for the traditional American feast?

-- Tony Pierce
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