First Daughters

Sasha & Malia Obama: Daughters of the President

You know, I have always believed that no matter what kind of disagreement or misunderstanding adults may have with each other, the children of everyone involved are off limits... accept on those rare occasions when the "beef" is about the children. And, in the heat of the moment, you certainly would not carelessly spew out threatening words towards someone's children, even if you had absolutely no intention of following through on the threat. I also know that there are certain "rules" that must be adhered to when you make references to someone's children and, if you plan to do it in a very public way, it might be good to reach some level of understanding with the parents before you do it. All of these things are definite "don'ts" when it comes to other people's children and, in most cases, we would expect people to observe the same "don'ts" regarding our own children.

Now, let's imagine that there are actually people walking around this great country of ours who, for whatever reason, are not aware of all these "dont's" regarding other people's children. And further, let's make this real interesting and imagine that the children who encounter such people are the daughters of the president of the United States, shall we? With that in mind, I am calling your attention to three news stories below which indicate the same. Perhaps, you already know or have heard about these situations. The first story was reported as recently as yesterday, the second story was reported a short time ago, and the third story was reported just days after Barack Obama won the presidency.

If the situations depicted in these stories were our own children, most of us know what we would say or do in response. Some of us might be on our way to jail following the first story. Some of us might feel that the second story was well-meaning and perhaps, somewhat justified. Some of us might even feel that the third story was relatively harmless because, after all, it's just about a couple of dolls, right? But, what I would like for you to consider regarding all of these stories is this... Do you feel that they protect and respect the dignity, privacy, and safety of "The First Daughters" of the United States? If you can answer "Yes" and would have no problem with these situations if it were your own children, all I can say is "okay" and you are entitled to your opinion (but, only if you are being honest). If you can answer "No", I would hope it is because you wouldn't want these situations happening to your own children. And, if you can answer "Yes" because they are someone else's children but, you would answer "No" if it were your own children... please, do me a favor and keep that opinion (even though you are entitled to it) to yourself.

Story #1 (Yesterday's News): There were signs comparing President Barack Obama to a Nazi and showing him with an Adolf Hitler-style mustache, but federal officials believe another sign referencing the president and his family went too far. A man who was holding a sign reading "Death to Obama" on Wednesday outside a town hall meeting on health care reform in Hagerstown, MD has been turned over to the Secret Service. Washington County Sheriff's Captain Peter Lazich said the sign also read, "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids." Lazich said that U.S. Secret Service agents took the unidentified 51 year old man into custody Wednesday afternoon, after deputies detained him near the entrance to Hagerstown Community College.



Story #2 (Recent News): An ad campaign using The First Daughters' private school lunches to make a point about children's nutrition has upset the White House. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is pushing Congress to give public school students healthier food options like the vegetarian option offered at Sasha and Malia's Sidwell Friends School. The posters at D.C.'s Union Station show a young girl with the text, "President Obama's daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don't I?" The Obama girls' names and faces don't appear on the poster, but White House officials want them out of the debate altogether, and they want the posters pulled down, saying they violate the privacy rights of The First Daughters. Dr. Neal Bernard of the Physicians Committee said, "I think the president absolutely has to protect his children and that's why you don't see the children's names or pictures at all on here. What we're comparing are the schools. The school that the first family has chosen provides healthy meals and public schools aren't in the position to do that."



Story #3 (Old News): The First Lady had to defend her daughters in the first week of President Obama taking office. Ty Inc., the same company that is widely known for their Beanie Babies collection, released these dolls resembling The First Daughters, Sasha and Malia. Michelle Obama’s press secretary released a statement stating, “We feel it is inappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing purposes.” The dolls are part of the TyGirlz collection. Although the dolls were named “Sweet Sasha” and “Marvelous Malia,” Ty Inc. insisted that the dolls were not made to be exact replications of the president’s daughters and were not based on the Obama girls at all.