No longer teens, twins happy to play role in 2d campaign

WASHINGTON -- Much has changed for Barbara and Jenna Bush in the four years since their father, George W. Bush, was elected and reelected president.

In 2000, the twins were camera-shy Texas high school students who made it clear they wanted no part of his campaign to become the second Bush elected president.

Four years later, and perhaps pressured by the visibility of Senator John F. Kerry's two daughters, they assumed public roles in their father's campaign.

Now, with their parents' futures set for the next four years, 23-year-old Barbara and Jenna Bush -- both of whom graduated from college last year -- are getting to work on their own.

Jenna Bush plans to live in the District of Columbia and put her English degree from the University of Texas at Austin to use teaching at a public elementary school, following her mother's career path into education. Barbara Bush's plans have not yet been announced. She earned a humanities degree from Yale and is said to be interested in working with people with AIDS, inspired perhaps after joining her parents on their first official trip to Africa in July 2003.

Husbands and children? Probably not in the immediate future, but Mrs. Bush, 58, recently spoke wistfully of her desire for grandchildren when asked whether she wanted the twins to get married.

"Sure, absolutely, right away, and start having kids," she told CNN's Larry King a few weeks before the Nov. 2 election. Mrs. Bush added: "I'd love to be grandfolks. Don't worry. They're not about to get married. Neither one of them have somebody they're going to marry, but I wish."

"Jenna and I are really not very political, but we love our dad too much to stand back and watch from the sidelines," Barbara Bush said during their five-minute speech at the Republican convention. "We realized that this would be his last campaign, and we wanted to be a part of it."