Stick around American politics long enough, and your story becomes the country’s. That’s one lesson from the longevity of the Bush family.
Though not every Bush who ventured into politics made the cover of TIME — sorry, Prescott Bush — the clan, including George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and some Barbara Bush along the way, has garnered dozens of covers over the years. (For the record, a complete gallery of the Clinton clan’s covers would be 54 slides long.) Flip through the images and you’ll notice a lot more than the years passing. The Bush story traces the fall of Nixon, the end of the Cold War, the contested 2000 election, the tragedy of Sept. 11, the war in Iraq. It is, essentially, a record of a few decades of American history.
George H. W. Bush, Jeb and George W. from 1970.George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/Corbis
Now Jeb Bush, who had so far only made one cover cameo (Aug. 7, 2000), may be on the verge of adding another chapter to political history. No matter what happens in 2016, he’s got a good start: this week, he’s on the cover of TIME.
Correction: The original version of this story misstated the number of times a Clinton had been featured on the cover of TIME. It was 54, as of March 5, 2015.
George H.W. Bush, pictured during his run for a Texas Senate seat, on the Oct. 26, 1970, cover of TIMECover Credit: MORT DRUCKERGeorge H.W. Bush, pictured as part of Gerald Ford's team, on the Nov. 17, 1975, cover of TIMERonald Reagan & George H.W. Bush on the Jul. 28, 1980, cover of TIMECover Credit: NEIL LEIFERRonald Reagan & George H.W. Bush on the Aug. 27, 1984, cover of TIMECover Credit: DIRCK HALSTEADGeorge H.W. Bush, top left, with Geraldine Ferraro, Walter Mondale and Ronald Reagan, on the Oct. 22, 1984, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge H.W. Bush, pictured among other presidential contenders, on the Feb. 29, 1988, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge H.W. Bush on the Mar. 21, 1988, cover of TIMECover Credit: DANIEL SCHWARTZGeorge H.W. Bush on the Aug. 22, 1988, cover of TIMECover Credit: WILLIAM COUPONGeorge H.W. Bush & Dan Quayle on the Aug. 29, 1988, cover of TIMECover Credit: DENNIS BRACKGeorge H.W. Bush on the Nov. 21, 1988, cover of TIMECover Credit: CYNTHIA JOHNSONGeorge H.W. Bush, with Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, on the Dec. 19, 1988, cover of TIMECover Credit: DIRCK HALSTEADBarbara Bush on the Jan. 23, 1989, cover of TIMECover Credit: GREGORY HEISLERGeorge H.W. Bush on the Jan. 30, 1989, cover of TIMECover Credit: DIRCK HALSTEADGeorge H.W. Bush on the Aug. 21, 1989, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge H.W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev on the Dec. 11, 1989, cover of TIMECover Credit: DIANA WALKERSaddam Hussein and George H.W. Bush on the Aug. 20, 1990, cover of TIMECover Credit: DIRCK HALSTEAD (BUSH); THOMAS HARTWELL (SADDAM)George H.W. Bush, Men of the Year, on the Jan. 7, 1991, cover of TIMECover Credit: GREGORY HEISLERGeorge H.W. Bush, with possible vice-presidential candidates, on the May 20, 1991, cover of TIMECover Credit: COMPUTER-ALTERED STATE OF THE UNION PHOTO BY DIANA WALKERGeorge H.W. Bush on the Aug. 24, 1992, cover of TIMECover Credit: WILLIAM COUPONGeorge H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and H. Ross Perot on the Oct. 12, 1992, cover of TIMECover Credit: DIANA WALKER, STEVE LISS, & SHELLY KATZ-BLACK STARBill Clinton and George H.W. Bush on the Oct. 19, 1992, cover of TIMECover Credit: CYNTHIA JOHNSONGeorge W. Bush on the June 21, 1999, cover of TIMETIMEBush, Gore, McCain & Bradley on the Jan. 31, 2000, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush on the Feb. 28, 2000, cover of TIMETIMEThe 'Bush Dynasty' on the Aug. 7, 2000, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush & Al Gore on the Nov. 6, 2000, cover of TIMECover Credit: BROOKS KRAFT (BUSH) / CORBIS SYGMA; DIANA WALKER (GORE)George W. Bush & Al Gore on the Nov. 20, 2000, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush & Al Gore on the Nov. 27, 2000, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush & Al Gore on the Dec. 4, 2000, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush, Person of the Year, on the Dec. 25, 2000, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush on the June 4, 2001, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush on the Sept. 24, 2001, cover of TIMECover Credit: DOUG MILLSGeorge W. Bush on the Nov. 5, 2001, cover of TIMECover Credit: BROOKS KRAFT - GAMMAGeorge W. Bush on the June 17, 2002, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush & Karl Rove on the Nov. 18, 2002, cover of TIMECover Credit: BROOKS KRAFTGeorge W. Bush on the Mar. 3, 2003, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush on the Jul. 21, 2003, cover of TIMECover Credit: BROOKS KRAFTGeorge W. Bush on the Oct. 6, 2003, cover of TIMECover Credit: BROOKS KRAFTGeorge W. Bush on the Dec. 1, 2003, cover of TIMECover Credit: BROOKS KRAFTGeorge W. Bush on the Feb. 16, 2004, cover of TIMECover Credit: ALEX WONGGeorge W. Bush on the May 24, 2004, cover of TIMECover Credit: ARTHUR HOCHSTEINGeorge W. Bush (and Laura Bush, top right) on the Sept. 6, 2004, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush and John Kerry on the Oct. 18, 2004, cover of TIMETIMEJohn Kerry and George W. Bush on the Nov. 1, 2004, cover of TIMETIMEGeorge W. Bush on the Nov. 15, 2004, cover of TIMETIMEPresident George W. Bush, Person Of The Year, on the Dec. 27, 2004, cover of TIMECover Credit: DANIEL ADELDick Cheney and George W. Bush on the Feb. 27, 2006, cover of TIMECover Credit: BROOKS KRAFT / CORBIS FOR TIMEGeorge W. Bush on the Nov. 6, 2006, cover of TIMECover Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY RON EDMONDS-APDick Cheney and George W. Bush on the Aug. 3, 2009, cover of TIMECover Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY LUKE FRAZZA/AFP/GETTY. INSETS, FROM LEFT: CBS/LANDOV; TOM GRILL/GETTY.George W. Bush, far left, with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton on the Apr. 23, 2012, cover of TIMECover Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY BROOKS KRAFT / CORBIS FOR TIMEGeorge H.W. Bush, Jeb Bush and George W. Bush on the Mar. 16, 2015, cover of TIMECover Credit: George Bush Presidential Library and Museum/Corbis
