The two men could hardly be more different, but it has been revealed that Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, and Barack Obama, a Democratic presidential candidate, are related.
Lynne Cheney said she discovered her Republican husband and the Democratic hopeful were eighth cousins while researching a book on her family's history.
"If you go back eight generations they have a common ancestor," Cheney told MSNBC on Wednesday, adding they both descended from a man who had immigrated from France in the 17th century.
Lynne Cheney described the discovery as "an amazing American story".
She said it was remarkable "that one ancestor...could be responsible down the family line for lives that have taken such different and varied paths."
The two men are political opposites, disagreeing sharply on the war in Iraq.
The vice-president is an advocate for using force to try to stabilise the country, while Obama wants to withdraw US troops from Iraq.
'Black sheep'
According to her spokeswoman, Obama, an Illinois senator, is a descendant of Mareen Duvall.
The French immigrant married the granddaughter of a Richard Cheney, who arrived in Maryland in the late 1650's from England, said Ginny Justice, a spokeswoman for Lynne Cheney.
Obama often highlights his rich multicultural family heritage on the campaign trail - his father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas.
Bill Burton, Obama's spokesman, offered a tongue in cheek response to the news.
"Every family has its black sheep."