Meet the presidential candidates' biggest liabilities

EYES ON THE PRIZE But the 2008 front-runners should watch out for these renegade loved ones

The presidential candidates may be limelight-ready, but happily, the same can't be said of their family members. In the long slog of the campaign, we need zany relatives—like good ol' boy Billy Carter, alcoholic Roger Clinton, and reefer-mad Al Gore III—to create scandals, hog the camera, and generally keep the race from degenerating into dullsville. Thankfully, the 2008 election offers a number of potential diversions. Here are a few of our favorites:

UPTOWN GIRL Cate Edwards

1. Cate Edwards
AGE: 25
IN A NUTSHELL: Jenna Bush with better shoes
WARNING SIGNS: Undercut the man-of-the-people image of her father, John Edwards, by working at Vanity Fair and founding urbanistaonline.com, a "Rolodex" for "urban fashionistas" who fancy $500 jeans and $800 shoes.
WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Takes her father to Graydon Carter's Waverly Inn only to have the New York Post jump all over the North Carolina populist for eating $55 mac and cheese.
MONEY QUOTE: "The only prints I own are by Marc Jacobs."

Photos: White House, Mark Wilson/Getty Images; Edwards, Getty