Jeb in 2012, Jenna and Barbara in 2036 Is One Timetable
As they made the rounds of the inauguration parties in Washington this week, the three principals of Dynasty Planners International seemed like just three more wealthy Republicans bent on celebrating four more years with George W. Bush as president.
It would have taken a careful listener to discern anything more than idle chatter in remarks the three made across banquet tables, at cocktail parties, and at various inaugural balls. But frequently their comments would spark intense conversation among those present.
For example, Libby Chappel, Dynasty Planners senior vice president, got the ball rolling at one luncheon table with an innocent, “My, isn’t it remarkable that George H. W. and Barbara have so many truly brilliant and talented children?” Then she sat back and quietly made mental notes about all that was said about the Bush brood.
Her husband, Porter Chappel, Dynasty Planners president, made a point of engaging a powerful Republican senator in conversation at a cocktail party and said, half joking and half serious, “Well, is it Jeb 2008 or Jeb 2012?”
The senator pulled him aside and a 30-minute conversation followed in which the senator laid out a detailed game plan for Jeb Bush to be elected president in 2012.
Darwin Witty, Dynasty Planners other senior vice president, took delight at a prayer breakfast table by asking a member of the Senate Finance Committee seated across the table why “the President didn’t dump John Snow and appoint Neil Bush as Secretary of the Treasury?”
“There was a moment of silence, and I thought I’d put my foot in it on that one, and then all around the table people began to say they thought that was a great idea and suggested that it might not be too late,” said Witty, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified. Neil Bush is the current President Bush’s brother.
Such goings-on are all part of Dynasty Planners mission of mapping out the business and political career paths of Bush family members so as to assure in decades to come that the family remains at the center of American political life and that it steadily cements its position as one of the nation’s most important families.
“Our job is to help them not only retain but grow their political power and their economic power as the decades unfold,” explained Libby Chappel, who also spoke on the condition that she not be identified.
Besides helping the Bush family gauge when Jeb should run for president, Dynasty Planners is also busy mapping out a possible run for a Texas Senate seat for Laura Bush after her husband’s second term as president ends.
As they have for several years now, the group continues to seek a new role for Neil Bush in public life that draws upon his experience in banking and financial markets.
Dynasty Planners is also busy charting the futures of George W. and Laura’s twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, who graduated from college last year.
“They are lovely, brilliant young women and I think they could be a new first in American political life, twins who run as a pair and win election to high office and govern as a pair,” said Porter Chappel, who said he didn’t mind being identified because he had nothing to say.
“I can’t go into the details, but we see a steady progression of career public service jobs for the twins that segue smoothly to a run for elected office a decade from now when they are in their early thirties,” he said. “It’s not beyond to reason to think of Jenna and Barbara for President in, say, 2036. The key is to begin planning now. That’s something this family understands and pursues diligently.”
A spokesman for Dynasty Planners International declined to reveal the annual retainer the Bush family pays the firm each year. Some recent estimates from executives in the dynasty planning industry have put the annual Bush family bill in the neighborhood of $2 million.