George Bush a distant cousin of Barack Obama

The New England Historic Society in the US has revealed that potential presidential nominee Barack Obama is a distant cousin of incumbent president George Bush.

The ties were discovered after several years of investigation by the society, which was founded in 1845 and is the largest nonprofit genealogical organisation in the US. 

The men are linked by a Samuel Hinkley of Cape Cod, who died in 1662. The actor Brad Pitt has also been identified as a distant cousin of Mr Obama.

Christopher Child from the society has said the discovery reveals that politicians often have more in common than they think.