Know the Bush twins? Test yourself here.
by Mark Silva
Skip journalism school, go straight to Today:
Jenna Bush Hager, one of the former first twins, has signed on as an occasional correspondent for NBC News' Today show.
Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush and working as a teacher in Baltimore, will be based in Washington, DC, covering a variety of human interest and feature stories as a contributing correspondent for the leading morning news show.
"Jenna is a terrific addition to the Today team," said Jim Bell, executive producer of the Today show, in a statement released by NBC today. "In previous appearances, she displayed a natural ability to communicate and connect. She has great passion about important subjects, especially education and literacy.'
Hager is a best-selling author who traveled the world with her parents, serves as the Young Leadership Ambassador & Chair for UNICEF's Next Generation Committee, which aims to save, protect and improve the lives of children.
Hager's first book, ANA'S STORY: A Journey of Hope, tells the tale of a 17-year-old single mother living with HIV in Latin America. Her scond book, READ ALL ABOUT IT!, is a picture book co-written with mother Laura Bush
Hager, who studied English at the University of Texas, plans to keep her day job as a reading resource teacher at a public school in Baltimore while reporting for the Today show, the network says. Her father served as president of the United States for eight years. .
(Jenna Bush Hager, pictured in the studio above, now a correspondent for NBC News' Today show. (Photo by Jeff Christensen / AP)
Comments
Darned liberal media!
Posted by: Right Winger | August 31, 2009 10:21 AM
In a recent book about the Secret Service, it was revealed that the SS had to carry Hager (the husband) back home because he was too drunk to get there on his own.....
Wonder what he's doing now.......
If anything.....
Nice to see Jenna has found work.......
Posted by: ornery | August 31, 2009 11:21 AM
Ornery,
That Hager story reminds me of a former Senator from New England. The difference is one had enough sense not to get behind the wheel of the car.
Posted by: Terry | August 31, 2009 11:38 AM
Is there any wonder that she got this job based upon her famous maiden name? How was she more qualified than all of the other applicants?
Posted by: BC | August 31, 2009 11:47 AM
How was she more qualified than all of the other applicants?
Posted by: BC | August 31, 2009 11:47 AM
Unlike the other applicants, she's likely to pick up viewers based on her lineage alone. Game's played the same way no matter what your ideology.
Besides, although she's got the Bush name behind her, her Dad's a moron and mom's no genius either. I can't imagine Jenna's all that bright. This will be a flash in the pan. Good luck anyway Jenna.
Posted by: a blinkin | August 31, 2009 12:42 PM
Well, she could be bright. We'll see. Recessive genes can work wonders.
I have good wisher for her.
Posted by: C.Morris✧ | August 31, 2009 2:59 PM
Why not one of those mind-numbing reality shows in which former first family members have to live with each other as roomates? Amy and Chip Carter. Jenna and Laura. Chelsea. Patti Davis and Ron Jr. Lucie and Lynda. Why didn't the suits think of this?!
Posted by: Kenny Bunkport | August 31, 2009 3:06 PM
Kenny-
Great idea. We need to get Dick Cheney as the host. When he interviews each one after they get voted out of the house, he can waterboard them to make sure they're telling us what they really think about the other people in the house.
Posted by: Rob | August 31, 2009 3:26 PM
KB,
I believe Chelesa is too busy working for a Hedge Fund. Does that mean she has been kicked out of the liberal tree house?
Posted by: Terry | August 31, 2009 3:38 PM
Jenna "plans to keep her day job" - good idea, Jenna! nbc is obviously pandering to the right wingnuts - how many thousand reading resource teachers are out there with vastly superior life and teaching experiences than she? obviously she landed that posh ivory tower position at unicef because of daddy's influence. nepotism rules! i'll give her credit .... at least she probably actually earned her degree and didn't need to have her grades fixed to graduate. obviously someone who she's related to didn't graduate from ivory league on his own. too bad jenna couldn't impart her speaking and communication skills on her day, if she really has any - the US could have looked a whole lot smarter in the area of foreign relations had she tutored him. Jenna should at least be smart enough to realize that her white right privilege landed her UNICEF and journalism positions. Oh, wait - she's the daughter of a white right man - she's entitled to her appointments. ahhh, that wonderful sense of entitlement and privilege. i won't be buying the book or watching Today, although I don't doubt she probably actually co-authored the book with her mom. Just goes to show: you don't have to be smart to be a politician or reach the highest rungs of politics. You have to be a puppet and you have to pander to the right people.
Posted by: reddog | August 31, 2009 3:43 PM
Episode #1:
The first kids volunteer for EMS.
Ron Jr. gives Terry mouth to mouth after he trips over his calculator. Hijinx ensue.
Posted by: Kenny Bunkport | August 31, 2009 4:31 PM
KB,
Isn't Ron Jr one of yours?
Posted by: Terry | August 31, 2009 5:40 PM
I believe Chelesa is too busy working for a Hedge Fund. Does that mean she has been kicked out of the liberal tree house?
Posted by: Terry | August 31, 2009 3:38 PM
Hey...at least she doesn't belong to that evil teachers union you hate and blame.
Posted by: bill r. | August 31, 2009 6:14 PM
Man, I say put Kenny Bunk in charge of something on TV. That is a funny idea.
Terrific!
Posted by: C.Morris✧ | August 31, 2009 6:17 PM
The today show has hired a bad role model since kids watching will think its OK to do some underage drinking. Parents of teens will hate it. Nothing Jenna can say will change it. So it was OK for the president's daughter--and weren't there pictures of her laughing about it with her twin in a courtroom? But hey, the underage drinking will get one a TV gig. I hope Jenna does a segment on smoking pot. I also hope someone asks her if she broke the law by smoking pot. Right or wrong, no moral assumptions, did she break the law? Who are the sponsors of The Today Show? I know kids, and this will turn into a big joke. The bigger the joke this turns into, the more kids might be killed in car accidents from drunk driving--because--hey--its OK. Such a hoot, Jenna. Not a hoot for Today.
Posted by: Vivian | August 31, 2009 7:10 PM
vivian,
Relax, most of us partook of underage drinking, and pot should be legal.
Give Jenna a break. People learn and mature by making mistakes.
She is just as much a victim of Bush as the rest of the USA.
Posted by: C.Morris✧ | August 31, 2009 8:37 PM
T, I think the difference boils down to:
SS was babysitting Jenna and Hager because they had to.
Teddy didn't have a minder.
Though he should have.
(The only Kennedy I liked was Jack.)
Posted by: ornery | August 31, 2009 8:58 PM
How could you sell yourself to such a far left leaning organization?. Immelt and the other dufus are lowlifes that the only thing they are qualified for is licking NOBAMA'S boots. I' m sure your old man can not be to happy over this development.
Posted by: Paul | August 31, 2009 9:19 PM
BillyR,
Do you think Bill and Hill would let Chelsea do something demeaning like teaching? That way she wouldn't be able to marry into this upstanding family. I feel sorry for the girl.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/12/father_of_chels.html
Ornery,
I guess you have tied one on?
Posted by: Terry | August 31, 2009 10:16 PM
C.Morris-- No. Jenna can't have a break for underage drinking then be a role model for young people. Forged IDs add yet an other level to the thing. It's not a joke. Too bad the twins' cars were not fitted with party 'plates.
Posted by: Vivian | September 1, 2009 12:30 AM
Chelsea married that guy?
How could I have missed that one?
Thanks for calling that to my attention, T.
And, no, I've never been drunk in public. Far from it.
My doctor some years ago advised to START drinking.
1 glass, no more than 2, of red wine.
Lowers cholesterol.
Also makes one sleep like a baby.
Posted by: ornery | September 1, 2009 10:21 AM
"Skip journalism school, go straight to Today"
Mark Silva sneers at Jenna Bush getting a TV news gig without having gone to journalism school.
But I can name at least two others, much more prominent in TV news, who also didn't go to journalism school: NBC anchor Brian Williams (who didn't even graduate from college) and ABC host George Stephanapoulos (Poli Sci degree).
Perhaps the reason Mark Silva doesn't sneer at Stephanapoulos and Williams is that both jumped to their big-time tv gigs after working for Democrats Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
Posted by: Charlie Rangel | September 1, 2009 12:08 PM
I'm willing to give Ms. Jenna a good run, see what she can do.
Posted by: ornery | September 1, 2009 2:39 PM
Ornery,
So far Chelsea is just engaged.
Posted by: Terry | September 1, 2009 10:05 PM
Geez, At least the girl seems sincere about education. She does not have to work but has chosen to work in urban schools and has done a ton of 3rd world work. I can name plenty of presidential offspring on both sides of the aisle who have chosen not to work for the public and/or have taken well placed jobs based solely on lineage.
Posted by: bk broiler | September 17, 2009 2:15 PM
Well now after seeing her twice on Today, I almost feel sorry for her. And I really feel sorry for the viewers. Her empty-worded drone-like monologues in a robotic posture make Diana Sawyer sound like Sartre. I guess currying favor with the right wing of the GoP is pretty easy these days. Next Sarah Palin will be commenting on the Afghanistan situation for ABC, expert that she is.
Posted by: Bill Johnson | October 22, 2009 8:36 AM
Hi Jenna,
I would like to tell you about a remarkable young girl Brie Harriel. Brie is an intellegent, caring and giving young girl whoes peers look up too in fact they come to her for advice. Brie makes herself available to her friend however she notice a trend with the young pre-teens, the see to fight and bully each other and Brie found herself advising them to try to talk to each other rather than fight. Brie then decided to speak to her science teach about forming a club where peers could talk about the differences and find solutions together. the teacher thaought this was an excellent idea and ask the school principle how he felt about it and he love the idea. the club was formed and the girl meet each week. Brie created a blog for the girls to talk, she suggest topic for discussion and the girl vote on the topic and Brie reseach the topic and bring handouts for the girls. The girls can blog when they are away from school and over the summer. Brie is a very care child who even orgainized a dog food drive for dogs in shelters. i would love it if you could do a story on Brie. Please call me for more details if you like at 602 439 2054.
Sincerely,
Barbara
Posted by: Barbara Mitchell-Peten | May 27, 2010 11:15 AM