Strollerderby : sasha and malia's first day of school

Doing Homework On Lincoln's Desk

Brett Singer — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:00:00 GMT

There are many important questions our new President must face. But one of them is not in dispute – which First Daughter will get Lincoln's desk.

That would be Malia, who cheekily called dibs on the 16th President's writing surface back in November (after her dad won, of course). She told Poppa Obama that she wanted to sit there when she had a paper to write for school, "because I'm thinking that will inspire big thoughts."

Lest you think this plan was forgotten in the Inaugural hoopla, the New York Times confirmed it in a front-page article on January 20th:

Where in the White House is Malia likely to gather her thoughts when she has a tough school assignment? (At Lincoln’s desk where he penned the Gettysburg Address.)

No word on where Sasha will sit and gather her thoughts. Me, I did it at the kitchen table. Come to think of it, I still do sometimes.

Source: NY Times, ABC

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VIDEO-Obama Bet Daughter She Will Freak When She Meets Nick Jonas

Brett Singer — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:00:00 GMT

I'm going to say it again. Are you ready? Are you sitting down? I hope so. Here we go:

President Obama seems like a good dad.

I know. Earth-shaking stuff, that. I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated by our new President's fatherly behavior, but I am. One reason is that there seem to be many examples of said behavior available for public consumption.

Here's the latest one: Malia said that she would be calm and collected when meeting her crush, Nick Jonas. So Dad bet his daughter five dollars that she would not, in fact, be so calm and cool. Talking about the girls meeting their fave music act, the Prez says:

"That's big! Don't tell them at all. Particularly because I've got a bet with Malia because she's been talking about when she sees her Jonas Brother favorite ... what's his name? Nick ... when she sees Nick, she's going to be all sophisticated. And I said, 'Malia, I will bet you $5 that you will stammer and not have anything to say when you see Nick.' So she's all, 'No, no, I'm sure I'll say I'm a really big fan...' you know Malia, acting all sophisticated... 'and I really enjoy his music'. I said, you won't say that!...So we've got a $5 bet…I won't really take her money."

Here's video of the President telling someone this story:

So what's the big deal? First, it seems like he has a nice relationship with his daughters. A little friendly teasing goes a long way. Second, he knows who the Jonas Brothers are, but he doesn't know too much about them. Not knowing which one she has a crush on is a good thing in my opinion. So he's involved enough in his daughter's interests, but not TOO involved. Third, he's comfortable saying that he made a "bet" with her without worrying that someone will think he's promoting gambling. To me, that speak to a certain confidence that some politicians lack. Granted, this video was released well after the election was won but I imagine that there are a lot of pols who would never allow something this candid to be aired.

So much for that normal life thing, though. Most girls don't get to meet their rock star crushes in person.

No word on whether he knows the difference between Gryffindor and Slytherin. If not, I'm sure Sasha and Malia will clue him in.

Source: HuffPo

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Brett Singer — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:00:00 GMT

At the end of an item in today's New York Times about the various choices for Presidential dog, there was this cute little family-oriented tidbit:

One family matter that appears to be going well is the Obama girls’ transition to their new school, Sidwell Friends.
“They seemed to thrive,” Mr. Obama said in the interview of their first week at the private school. “I’m trying to figure out why it is that they don’t seem to be fazed by anything.
“People think — you know, folks think I’m cool. They are a lot cooler than I am. They just don’t seem to be intimidated.”

In his case I think the President-elect was using the word cool in a fairly literal way – as in cucumber, cool as a, rather than James Dean cool. (Or even he-likes-comic-books cool.) I know I keep coming back to this idea, but I’m still surprised at how often I feel a connection to Barack Obama as a dad. I can't say that about most famous folks, much less a politician.

Do you think your kids adjust to change better than you do? Are they "cooler"?

Source: NYTimes

Image: NY Daily News

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The Obama Kids First Day Of School

Brett Singer — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Sasha and Malia started school yesterday. Here's a photo:

Not to repeat myself, but the more I see of the Obamas as a family, the more I can relate to them. For me, that's unusual, since I rarely feel an affinity with the insanely rich and/or powerful. I certainly can't recall a time when I felt like I had something in common with a politician, much less a President of the United States.

Am I right? Are the Obamas as "normal" as they seem? By "normal" I don't mean "heterosexual with two kids", I mean "dealing with things that many of us deal with, like young, independent children who go to school." Both parents seem involved, more so than some families I know. It could all be an act, but if it is, it's a really good one, because I’m as cynical as they come and I'm convinced.

Either way, those kids really are cute.

Whether you voted for Obama or not – and I'd be especially curious to hear from anyone who didn't vote Democrat in the recent election – do you like what you see of the Obamas as parents?

Source: NY Daily News

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VIDEO-Obama Kids Say DC Schools Are Wimpy

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