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Opinion: What should we do when the offspring of politicians provide ammunition by way of their behavior that can be weaponized against their famous fathers?

During her presidential campaign in 2007, Hillary Clinton famously quoted an African proverb that says, Its takes a village to raise a child.

I believe that to be true.

Unfortunately, the GPS coordinates to that village, along with step-by-step directions, have never been provided to those of us who are parents.

Given that, and recognizing my own inadequacies, I am generally disinclined to judge a parent based on the behavior of a child.

Particularly when the offspring is an adult.

Most long-time parents would agree with me on this.

Im sure of it.

Except when it comes to politics.

With a public figure (especially one with whom we disagree), the sins of offspring become the sins of the parent.

So it is with a son of President Joe Biden and a son and a son-in-law of former President Donald Trump. Each of these men has made a (sometimes questionable) living off the name association with a famous father (or father-in-law). One of them even hoped to stage a coup.

The scrutiny of President Bidens son Hunter began during his presidential campaign and has continued unabated. Trumps first impeachment involved Trump trying to strongarm Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into ramping up an investigation into Hunter, who had made a lot of money through dealings with businesses in faraway places, including Ukraine.

The U.S. attorney in Delaware, a Trump appointee, has an ongoing investigation into Hunter. The current president has not interfered with that investigation or moved to replace the prosecutor. Something I suspect Trump would have done in an instant.

Its not easy being a dad.

Meantime, the former presidents oldest son, Donald Jr., is in trouble on several fronts. Most recently texts have been released between him and then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in which Don Jr. promotes a plan to invalidate the presidential election and keep his father in office.

Its very simple, Don Jr. texts in one of them. We have multiple paths. We control them all.

The legality of those paths … well … thats another question.

Don Jr. and his sister Ivanka also are under investigation by New York's Attorney General Letitia James, who said, We have uncovered significant evidence that suggests Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued multiple assets and misrepresented those values to financial institutions for economic benefit."

The former president is tied up in this as well, but his children are adults. They make their own choices.

In addition to all this, The New York Times reported recently that Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment in his private equity firm from Saudi Arabias state-owned sovereign wealth fund only six months after the end of the Trump administration.

Two billion.

The funds advisory members didnt believe Kushner had anything close to the knowledge or experience required for such a financial windfall, but they were overruled by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Kushner was a senior adviser to his father-in-law when he was president. He defended a massive arms deal to Saudi Arabia and subsequently became pals with the prince. So, is the sweetheart deal a form of payback?

You might remember Mohammed bin Salman as the person a U.S. intelligence officials blame for the operation that led to theabduction and murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

And by way of comparison, $2 billion makes anything Hunter Biden did look like chump change.

The vast majority of politicians even those we dont like manage to rear children who become respectable adults whom we never hear about, mostly because respectable cant be weaponized against a political opponent. Other children provide their fathers opponents with plenty of ammunition.

Still, I am disinclined to blame a father for the sins of a son, particularly when the offspring is a full-grown independent adult whose troubles should be his own.

In matters of child rearing even after the progeny have long since flown the nest I find I am in agreement with the comedian Andy Richter, who said, I would say that the hardest thing about being a parent is these goddamned kids.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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