IMAGINE! CHELSEA MARRYING INTO A RESERVED (EEK) REPUBLICAN FAMILY
"When Chelsea Clinton's folks get together with the family of her new boyfriend Ian Klaus, sparks could fly - because the Clintons and the Klauses are as different as night and day.
Chelsea and 6-foot soccer playiner Ian have been inseparable since they met at England's Oxford University. There have been reports the couple may be headed to the altar, so it's only a matter of time before their families meet. But the backgrounds of the Clintons adn the Klauses are poles apart.>P>For starters, there's the family reputation.:"Everyone knows Bill Clinton has had his fair share of scandals," said P.J. Corkery, society columnist for the SF Examiner. "On the other hand, Ian's parents have a blemish-free background.
"If this relationship ends at the altar, it will be Ian who's marrying down!"
Bill and Hillary Clinton have generated years of headlines with embarrassing antics involving sex, sleaze and political corruption. That's bound to disturb Ian's squeaky clean folks - Robin and Patricia Klaus - who are a high-society family of impeccable credentials and top-drawer connections.
Respected dd Robin, 59, is a graduate of Stanford Univ - where Chelsea studied - and made a $40 million fortune manufacturing an selling exercise equipment in Europe and Asia.
Patricia, 48, runs a horse-breeding farm and is well-known in equestrian circles. The family lives quietly in a a sprawling $5 million home in the exclusive town of Belvedere, just over the Golden State Bridge from San Francisco.
And there are otehr ways the Klauses adn the Clinton clan are totally at oddds:
1) Ian's family boasts an acclaimed war hero, Ian's grandfather - while Bill Clinton was accused of being a draft dodger
2) Ian's family are discreet and socially retiring - while Chelsea's mom and dad often hog the limelight, or unintentionally attract attention with their scandalous behavior
3) Ian's folks donate generously, but quietly to good causes - while Chelsea's were snared in several financial scandals, including WHitewater and a cash-for-pardons scheem uncovered by the ENQUIRER
And perhaps worst of all, the sweethearts' families are politically miles apart. Chelsea's mom and dad are, of course, leading Democrats - but Ian's folks are conservative, right-wing Republicans!
"I wonder what old man Klaus thinks of the fact that Ian's with the daughter of a Democrat!" said a neighbor of the Klaus family.
Publicly, Ian's parents Robin and Patricia have stayed mum about their opinions of the Clintons, graciously accepting their son's involvement with the only child of Slick Willie. But a source who knows the Klaus family said she seriously doubted Chelsea Clinton would be their idea of a perfect daughter-in-law!
The source said: "I think the Klauses and most of their friends would be pretty disappointed if Ian married Chelsea Clinton. After all, she does come from a family that doesn't exactly have a good name."