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Cheney mum over 'cousin'
27/10/2007 13:37 - (SA)
Washington - US Vice-president Dick Cheney said on Friday he has not reached out to "Cousin Barack" Obama since reports that the two share a distant relative.
In an interview for CNBC's Kudlow & Company, Cheney, a Republican, was asked whether he and Obama, a Democratic presidential candidate, have discussed their ancestral link.
"Cousin Barack?" Cheney said. "No, we haven't - haven't had the opportunity to talk about it."
Lynne Cheney, the vice-president's wife, told MSNBC television last week she uncovered the long-ago ties between the two while researching her ancestry for her latest book, "Blue Skies, No Fences."
The vice-president said he was unsure about bringing it up with the senator.
"Well, I didn't know whether that would help him or hurt him, so I thought I'd probably stay away from him," he said.
Obama is a descendent of Mareen Duvall, said Ginny Justice, a spokeswperson for Lynne Cheney. The French Huguenot's son married the granddaughter of a Richard Cheney, who arrived in the US in the late 1650s from England.
The vice president's full name is Richard B Cheney.
Lynne Cheney told MSNBC the relationship was eighth cousin. But last month, the Chicago Sun-Times traced it as ninth cousins once removed.
- SAPA
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