Unrelated Obamas Relish Connection

Ordinary citizens who share the last name Obama with the president-elect are seeing goodwill and unexpected perks lately, the Washington Post reports. They might not be able to score Inauguration tickets, but entrance to a swanky nightclub? No problem. Speeding ticket? Fixed. And it’s an exclusive club: The country may have fewer than 20 Obama families, compared to 60,000 people whose last name is Bush.

Most Obamas in the US trace their lineage to Equatorial Guinea, not Kenya, Barack Sr.'s homeland. That includes Nicanor Obama, who says, "I'm not related to the president, but I think Obama is a good name to have right now." "Everyone asks if I'm related to the president now," says Denise Maye Obama. "One of these times I'm going to say yes, just for the fun of it." (More Barack Obama stories.)