On a recent trip to Hawaii, the Obama family "caused a commotion" at a mall.
No! Really? What next? Floor down? Ceiling up?
Reuters describes the event as "a surreal scene -- the president-elect, daughters Malia, 7, and Sasha, 10 and family friends eating at a table at the mall watched by a crowd of onlookers and surrounded by anxious-looking Secret Service agents."
What exactly is surreal about that? Maybe it's surreal for the Obamas, but you might think at this point that they were accustomed to the attention.
The President Elect "wants to maintain some degree of normal life for his daughters. He has also said he fears becoming isolated and losing touch with the world outside the White House 'bubble,'" according to Reuters.
I think this is an admirable idea. It is also, at best, completely unrealistic. How exactly can you call a life spent with multiple bodyguards "normal"? From now on, the Obama family is American royalty. Part of that is just because of the job Dad just got, but part of it is because the entire family has captured the American imagination. I praised Bill and Hillary Clinton for keeping the press away from Chelsea. But this is different. First of all, Chelsea was older, which made it easier to ask for her privacy. Second, it was a different time. As much as the Clinton campaign and administration was heavily televised, it was nothing like it is today. Think about it – there was no YouTube. Cable news was around, but not as prevalent as it is now. And most Americans didn't have Internet access, much less broadband with 24/7 streaming video. And four billion blogs. (Ahem.)
All that is not to say that Barack and Michelle Obama shouldn't do what they can to keep their kids as grounded as they can under the circumstances. But a normal life? Eating at a mall in peace? Come on. Not gonna happen.
Source/Image: Reuters
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