Children Of Presidents Feel Spotlight

March 10, 2001 -- When you're the daughter of a president, even simple things you do can become big news.

Chelsea Clinton found that out when she was seen around Stanford University with a boyfriend.

The young man's hometown of Woodlands, Texas, issued a press release and fielded phone calls about their native son dating a president's daughter. The whole town, it seemed, was delighted.

"These kids are our royalty," said Brad Meltzer, who spent a year researching children of presidents for his book First Counsel. "Whether they like it or not their privacy is invaded, and we love to hear any juicy details we can about them."

Artist, Author, Playboy Model

There are 24 living first children, each of whom has fashioned his or her own lifestyle — from sometime children's book illustrator Amy Carter to Patti Davis, who wrote a book about her "cold and uncaring" father, former President Reagan, and posed in Playboy magazine.

But many have come to be defined not only by what they have done, but also what has been written and said about them.

John F. Kennedy Jr. faced several "The Hunk That Flunked" New York Post headlines after twice failing to pass the bar. He finally passed on his third try. His tragic death, along with his wife and her sister, in a small airplane he was piloting, was major worldwide news.

When Ron Reagan Jr. and Davis criticized their father, television talk shows took the opportunity to put a microscope on the family dynamics.

And when a young Amy Carter decided that reading a book at the dinner table was more interesting than listening to the adults talk politics, many Americans pegged her family as ill-mannered.

Chelsea Clinton was mostly seen and not heard. Perhaps the most memorable images of President Clinton's only child were moments when it seemed actions meant more than words — a picture of Chelsea holding both her parents' hands, walking between them just after the country learned of her father's trysts with young intern Monica Lewinsky. When Hillary Rodham Clinton was running for senator, her poll numbers spiked when it was announced that Chelsea was going to leave school for the semester and work on her mom's campaign.

Trauma Central

The Clintons jealously guarded Chelsea's privacy.

"Chelsea benefited from the best protection any first daughter has had," said Meltzer. "Some of the others didn't fair well and many of them today are so protective of their privacy because of their experience."

Lyndon Johnson's daughter Luci created a stir when she was filmed dancing. "There were an awful lot of labels for me like 'Watusi Luci,'" Luci Johnson Turpin said in a 1984 interview with ABCNEWS. "I felt like I was the black sheep of the family."

Several former White House children contacted for this story refused to be interviewed.

"You know it was so long ago, and I don't want to bring any of those memories back up," said Steven Ford.

The harsh media spotlight, as well as the constant Secret Service surveillance takes a toll on the children, according to Dr. Michael Blumenfield, professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical College.

Susan Ford, who often stepped in for her mother at official functions when the first lady was indisposed, made headlines when she dated White House photographer David Hume Kennerly and then Secret Service agent Chuck Vance. She married Vance at age 22, two years after her dad left the White House. She and Vance are now divorced.

"The difficulty for these children usually leads individuals to have some other problems in their lives," said Blumenfield. "As these children try to find themselves they encounter all kinds of difficult issues. We are all familar with some of the trials and tribulations of the Kennedy clan.

"A lot of these children have a tough time because as they are trying to define themselves they have a tough act to follow," he said.

"What most children of celebrities and politicians want is to be invisible, so the best way to do that and for their families to protect them is to have them not speak," said Dr. Elma Howard, who treats children of celebrities. "But this also puts a huge amount of pressure on these kids."

"Overall, it takes a lot for children to stand up for their parents," Meltzer said.

Daughter Obsession

In researching his book, Meltzer admittedly became a bit obsessed with first daughters. He contacted every first daughter he could find, and all refused to speak with him. He said one did agree to a faxed interview, though he would not reveal who it was. He then started contacting former nannies. But still no one would talk to him.

"They are so protected and they are in a great position of power and fame and none of it is their doing," said Blumenfield. "It drives a lot of guilt and a great deal of frustration for people. They think, 'Well here I am stuck with all the consequences of fame but really I am just being dragged along for the ride that my parent is going on.'"

President Bush, who was already an adult when his father moved into the White House, told ABCNEWS' Barbara Walters he hopes his daughters, 19-yera-old twins Jenna and Barbara, will enjoy the same kind of privacy that Chelsea was given. But that's not a given.

"It's a different ballgame out there," Meltzer said. "These girls are at partying age and they are going to college and they are going to be in the spotlight."

They have quite an act to follow, since their own father is the son of a president.