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President Obama Says Dating "Will be an Issue" for Sasha and Malia
Filed under: Celeb Parents
I was nine years old when Jimmy Carter was elected President -- too young to care about politics, but old enough to be envious of his daughter, Amy, who was also nine. After all, she was getting to live in the White House! "You know she has her own pool!" I told my father. "And a bowling alley!" Yes, he said, he knew. "Why don't you run for President?" I asked. My dad laughed and said, "I don't think it would be all that much fun for you." Then he explained how Amy Carter, for the rest of her life, would have a Secret Service detail with her all the time. "Even at school?" I asked. "Even when she goes on dates?" Yes, my dad said, even when she goes on dates.
Talk about a buzz kill.
When Sasha and Malia Obama moved into the White House, I had essentially the exact same conversation with my sons, who are more or less the same ages as the First Kids. And the President himself weighed in recently on what it's been like for his kids to be so much in the public eye -- and on why he likes that Secret Service protection.
President Obama told "Newsweek" that so far, the girls seem to be adjusting well to life in the fishbowl. "You know, the nice thing is that, partly because of temperament, partly because of Michelle's unbelievable parenting skills, I've just got some happy, normal kids." However, he said, he does worry about the teen years, "where, you know, you're already embarrassed about your parents."
While Obama doesn't seem worried that his girls will pull anything like what the Bush twins did, he's still a protective father. All those boys who think it would be cool to take one of the First Daughters out to a movie in a few years should take heed; the President says that dating "will be an issue" for Sasha and Malia. Because he and Mrs. Obama aren't going to let the girls out of their sight? No; because of that Secret Service detail. "I have men with guns surrounding them at all times," Obama said, laughing, "which I'm perfectly happy with, but they may feel differently about it."
I can only imagine.
Talk about a buzz kill.
Sasha and Malia Obama
President Obama told "Newsweek" that dating "will be an issue" for his girls. "I have men with guns surrounding them at all times, which I'm perfectly happy with, but they may feel differently about it."
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Malia Obama walks First Dog Bo on the White House Grounds in April of 2009.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Just days after the inauguration, the makers of Beanie Babies introduced "Sweet Sasha" and "Marvelous Malia." Now they're valued at over $3,000 for the pair.
Getty Images
A boy sneaks a photo of Sasha and Malia as they watch their mom speak to 6th and 7th grade school children from around Washington, DC, in February 2008.
Getty Images
Sasha Obama runs down the colonnade as she returns to the White House after a February 2009 weekend visit to Chicago.
Jonathan Ernst, Reuters
President Obama took a night off from running the nation to hang out with the family and watch the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform at the Kennedy Center.
Getty Images
The Obama girls were easy, breezy and totally adorable on their father's inauguration day. Malia, 10, wore a double-breasted periwinkle-blue coat with a blue-ribbon tied in a bow at the waist. Seven-year-old Sasha wore a matching outfit in pinks and corals; both coats were from Crewcuts by J. Crew.
Getty Images
Sasha gives her father the thumbs up following the presidential oath.
Stan Honda, AFP, Getty Images
Sasha laughs with her father President Barack Obama following his inaugural address.
Elise Amendola, AP
Sasha Obama is playful after taking her seat .
Jeff Christensen, AP
When Sasha and Malia Obama moved into the White House, I had essentially the exact same conversation with my sons, who are more or less the same ages as the First Kids. And the President himself weighed in recently on what it's been like for his kids to be so much in the public eye -- and on why he likes that Secret Service protection.
President Obama told "Newsweek" that so far, the girls seem to be adjusting well to life in the fishbowl. "You know, the nice thing is that, partly because of temperament, partly because of Michelle's unbelievable parenting skills, I've just got some happy, normal kids." However, he said, he does worry about the teen years, "where, you know, you're already embarrassed about your parents."
While Obama doesn't seem worried that his girls will pull anything like what the Bush twins did, he's still a protective father. All those boys who think it would be cool to take one of the First Daughters out to a movie in a few years should take heed; the President says that dating "will be an issue" for Sasha and Malia. Because he and Mrs. Obama aren't going to let the girls out of their sight? No; because of that Secret Service detail. "I have men with guns surrounding them at all times," Obama said, laughing, "which I'm perfectly happy with, but they may feel differently about it."
I can only imagine.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 3)
5-20-2009 @ 5:23PM
jen said...While I am NO fan of Bush's (god forbid) I take exception with the phrasing that his daughters "pulled" anything. I mean really, they did nothing more/less/worse than most teens between the age of 16-19 "pull". Did I smirk with joy when they got caught - yes, b/c I so desperately disagreed with their father's politics. Do I think they were bad kids - heck no, I actually think both have developed into fine young adults - just like most kids will. Now are they comparable to the accomplishments of Cheasea Clinton? Only time will tell.
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5-20-2009 @ 10:07PM
LS said...I, too, think it was a low blow to slam the Bush Girls. It's entirely possible that Chelsea got into her share of dust-ups, but the press covered it up. And it is well known that ALL the girls - Barbara and Jenna Bush, and Chelsea Clinton, have grown up to be fine young ladies, evidenced by the fact that both Bush girls have worked part of their young careers in other countries - Jenna teaching in Panama, and Barbara working with AIDS patients in several parts of Africa. And Chelsea is one of the youngest to have worked for a hedge fund.
So I would say that, parental antics on BOTH SIDES aside, Sasha and Malia have plenty of excellent role models in the Daughters of the White House - and if they feel the need, I'm sure that any of those three ladies would offer a word of advice or encouragement if it was requested. After all, they've all been there, too.
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5-21-2009 @ 8:35PM
jbahllywd2 said...FACT ... when the Bush twins got into trouble it was national news. Now the small-minded take issue with everything Obama says --- even when he quotes FACTS.
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5-22-2009 @ 12:39AM
Mariah said...WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
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5-21-2009 @ 8:53PM
Cheryl Mason said...Bit of a difference between Chelsea and the Bush twits--she was 12 when her father was elected, they were 19. And I'm guessing that if she had been caught underage in a bar at some point during Daddy's term, somebody would in fact have published or broadcast a line or two about it!
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5-21-2009 @ 8:59PM
Margaret Dudey said...Obama cannot even talk about his own daughters without trying to bash President Bush. You are president now. Act like one.
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5-21-2009 @ 9:30PM
Gwen said...MS. DUDEY: THE PRESIDENT DID NOT "BASH" BUSH....NEITHER DID THE WRITER OF THE ARTICLE WHEN SHE MENTIONED THE TWINS!!! MAYBE IF YOU LEARN TO COMPREHEND WHAT YOU READ INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO BASH YOURSELF, YOU TOO WILL BECOME AN UNBIASED AND INFORMED PERSON!
5-21-2009 @ 10:22PM
Jenn said...Get a clue - that was the authors statement - not Obama's. I can't believe some of the racist hatred I read here. For those of you spewing it - do the rest of us a favor and go live somewhere else.
5-21-2009 @ 10:33PM
Monica said...I must have missed something....the article did not quote Obama as saying anything bad about the Bush girls. I am sure they asked him about the past behvaiors of kids in the White House and answered. Nowhere in this line are there quotes...(While Obama doesn't seem worried that his girls will pull anything like what the Bush twins did, he's still a protective father.) Nope I still don't see the quotes.
5-21-2009 @ 11:12PM
Susan said...There were no quote from the President as to Bush's daughters. It was an observation made by the writer and if it were actually mentioned, the reporter probably brought it up, not the President. I swear, you people will pick on any tiny thing. It's a fluff article in ParentDish, which I though was pretty entertaining. It's not about our Middle East policy or bailing out the banks for heaven's sake.
5-22-2009 @ 2:58PM
Christina said...It's not President Obama who's "bashing" the Bush twins, it's the author of this article.
5-21-2009 @ 9:19PM
eric said...Dating, and I thought their marriages were probably already decided--like the old Country you know.
Reply
5-21-2009 @ 9:23PM
Carol said...Read the article---the President did not bash the Bush girls,the ARTICLE did. GEEZ!
Reply
5-21-2009 @ 9:30PM
Gwen said...You people who keep referring to the President as being of the Muslim faith need to take off your hoods and get over it!! If one is to JUDGE by the media coverage given him since he became a public figure, HE IS ACTUALLY MORE CHRISTIAN THAT MOST OF THE "PROFESSED CHRISTIAN" POSTERS ON THESE AOL MESSAGE BOARDS. Y'ALL NEED TO GO READ THE GOOD BOOK BEFORE YOU START NAME CALLING!!
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5-22-2009 @ 12:59AM
Joan said...A-MEN, AMEN AMEN
5-21-2009 @ 9:38PM
Joshua Josephson said...Is it possible that Obama was kidding about the Bush girls? If you look at the tone of the rest of his words, he's speaking somewhat tongue-in-cheek. "Men with guns around his daughters" is hardly to be taken as a threat to potential suitors. I don't agree with Obama's statements about U.S. no longer being a Christian nation; part of being a Christian is in "thinking the best" and "giving the benefit of the doubt." Let's prove that we are, indeed, still Christian, respect our President and stop sniping and thinking the worst.
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5-21-2009 @ 9:50PM
Mark said...Ms Doody obviously has such a pathological hatred for President Obama that she cannot see, read or comprehend straight.
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5-21-2009 @ 9:58PM
Noah Siegel said...The author of this article did bash Bush's daughters, who are fine young ladies. All girls that age will sneak into a bar. Bush may not have been a good president, and so say what you want, but he is a very nice guy, and he raised his kids well. This was a low blow by an obviously left wing writer. That line really turned me off, as i hate when people degrade Bush's character. Everyone who has met him will say HE WAS A VERY NICE MAN. I am not going to talk about his presidency, but that is not the aim of this article.
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5-21-2009 @ 11:31PM
Tamara said...Noah Siegel you stated that "All girls that age will sneak into a bar." When I was 12-21 I never stepped a foot into a bar because it was against the law and as a young Christian woman I knew if I did "sneak into a bar" I would be making God upset, my parents upset and setting the wrong example of who I was to all who saw me in that bar. See those are called morals and I learned them from my parents. They never threatened me, they taught me right from wrong. When Prince Harry wore Nazi bands on his arms it made the U.K. and Prince Charles, his father, look bad around the world, it reflects his family and when our president's daughters, NO MATTER WHICH PRESIDENT IT HAPPENS TO BE, sneak into a bar while they are underage it makes all of the USA look bad too. It opens them up to being called names that, yes they have now grown out of but still linger in the minds of many people. That's what bad choices in life bring about, lingering memories of past events.
5-22-2009 @ 1:00AM
Joan said...Obama is doing a great job. and yes I think Bushes brain is dead from his prior drug use and alochol use. I think Cheney ran that presidential seat from day one when it should have been Bush.
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