President Obama The Dad
Now I’m not a political person, but I must say that I think it’s great that there’s a young family in the White House. My eldest is pretty close in age to the younger Obama daughter Sasha, so it will be interesting to see how the new President and First Lady fare, not just with the monumental task of running the country, but as parents.
I like how the President wrote a letter to his girls (printed in Parade Magazine), telling them the reasons why he decided to run for President, and what he wanted for them. Here’s my favourite bit:
“….When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about how I’d make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want.But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn’t seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that’s why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation….”
Okay, cynics may find the last sentence a bit of a political cliche, but I couldn’t agree with him more on the rest. And you can see how he really is a doting Dad, just from the way the girls have such smiles and warmth when they are around him. Did you notice how 7-year-old Sasha gave her newly-sworn-in Dad the thumbs up sign on inauguration day?
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January 27th, 2009 at 2:32 am
What makes it political cliche is that we are looking at it. If it was a really genuine from the heart communication from a father to his kids, we wouldn’t be reading it on the internet. It bummed me out that he did this. Seemed to cheapen him a bit. Howver, I am still an Obama fan, just no a fan of exploiting your kids keepsakes for political purposes.
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:38 am
Hope the Obamas can live up to their promise to keep their children grounded – must be hard with all the celebs around….