Panetta political dynasty taking shape? Posted at 03:02 PM ET, 04/05/2013 Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (David Royal - AP) There have been many notable family dynasties in Congress, including various Kennedys, Bushes (Sen. Prescott and Rep. George H.W.), Pryors (Sens. David and Mark), Dingells (Reps. John Sr. and Jr.) and Shusters (Reps. Bud and Bill). We may soon be adding the Panettas (Leon and James) to the list. James Panetta, now Monterey County deputy district attorney and former Naval intelligence officer in the Joint Special Operations Command and deployed to Afghanistan, is seriously thinking about running for Congress - when Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) retires. The statement caused a "seismic shift" in the Monterey Peninsula's "political landscape," according to our copy of The Carmel Pine Cone, which noted that "many local Democrats have their eye" on Farr's congressional seat. James Panetta told the weekly he wouldn't commit to running until Farr, 71, who replaced Leon Panetta in Congress in 1993, retires. The elder Panetta, who served nine terms in the House and was then OMB director and Clinton White House chief of staff and more recently President Obama's CIA director and secretary of defense, told the Pine Cone he supported his son's "aspiration." You know, when you read the article, the kid even sounds like his dad.