They're Young and in Vogue

Barbara and Jenna Bush, now 22-year-old college graduates, are the stars of a Vogue magazine spread that hits newsstands today, in which they publicly embrace their status as scions of political royalty.

Jenna, draped in a strapless, cranberry-colored Oscar de la Renta gown, poses with a half-grin and shows off a Harry Winston bracelet. Barbara, on the opposite page, flashes a movie-star smile and wears a strapless, champagne-colored Calvin Klein gown.

The spread, headlined "Sister Act," was shot in May. It comes as the twins dip their toes ever so gradually into their father's reelection campaign.

"It's not like he called me up and asked me," Jenna told Vogue writer Julia Reed, explaining how she decided to help her father after a lifetime of steering clear of politics. "They've never wanted to throw us into that world, and I think our decision probably shocked them. But I love my dad, and I think I'd regret it if I didn't do this."

Jenna, a University of Texas graduate, made her first campaign trail appearance Friday, joining President Bush on a bus tour of central Pennsylvania. She will introduce her mother at two closed-door events today, making her first campaign-related speeches. Barbara campaigned with her father Tuesday in Michigan and Minnesota.

Both women, fresh from post-graduation European vacations, already have post-campaign plans. Jenna aims to live with a friend in Manhattan while teaching at a charter school. Barbara, a Yale graduate, will work with pediatric AIDS patients in Eastern Europe and Africa.

The Vogue article is mostly a glowing take on the twins' coming of age, noting that "until now, they've been best known for their inevitable but sparse tabloid appearances and the much-mentioned reports of their 2001 run-in with the law for underage drinking."

In that incident, at a Mexican restaurant in Austin, Texas, police accused Barbara of being a minor in possession of alcohol and Jenna of misrepresenting her age by trying to use false identification to buy alcohol, according to a statement from the Austin Police Department.

The charges were dropped after the twins performed community service, attended alcohol awareness classes and paid $100 fines. A separate underage drinking charge against Jenna went on her record as a conviction because of the restaurant violation. A judge fined her $500 and suspended her driver's license.