October 30, 2008
Malia and Sasha Obama: New Kids in the White House
With the election of Barack Obama to president of the United States, there will be two new kids entering the White House early next year. They are President-elect Barack Obama's daughters; Malia, who is 10, and Sasha, who is 7. Just like the President's wife is referred to as the "First Lady", Sasha and Malia will often be called the "First Kids".
Sasha and Malia will have some adjusting to do. Living in the White House will be very different. Almost like princesses, they will live in a giant house with the whole world watching them and Secret Service agents will be guarding them constantly. In some ways, it will be scary and intimidating. In other ways, it should be fun and a great experience. They will meet famous and important people. They will get to learn how the government works first hand. They will probably get to wear fancy clothes to parties, go on awesome vacations, and eat great food. At the same time, their parents will probably try to keep life as normal as possible. Malia and Sasha will still be going to school, having homework, and maybe even doing some chores.
One of the first orders of business for Sasha and Malia will be to pick out their first dog. They have already said they will adopt a puppy from an animal shelter. The puppy is to be their reward for putting up with their Dad's long and hard campaign for president. They probably hardly ever saw him as their Dad traveled constantly while running for president. Hopefully they will get a little more Daddy time in the near future, but their Dad will be very busy as president the next 4 years.
There have been a lot of presidential children or "First Kids" over the years. Many times the children have been older and didn't even live in the White House, but some have been younger like Sasha and Malia. One was Thomas Lincoln, nicknamed Tad, who was 8 years old when his dad Abraham Lincoln entered office. Another was Quentin Roosevelt, who was 3 when his dad, Teddy Roosevelt, took office. Quentin would become a pilot and died as a hero in battle over France. More recently there was Chelsea Clinton. Chelsea was 12 years old when her dad, Bill Clinton, became president in 1993. Perhaps Sasha or Malia will end up as president themselves one day. Two other First Kids later became president; John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, and George W. Bush, son of George H. W. Bush.
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