Posted on 01/14/2009 4:10:39 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Next Tuesday, Barack Obama will be sworn in as our 44th President. On this historic occasion, PARADE asked the President-elect, who is also a devoted family man, to get personal and tell us what he wants for his children. Here, he shares his letter to them.
Dear Malia and Sasha,
I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.
When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me-about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.
I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college-even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.
I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.
Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country-but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free-that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.
That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.
She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.
I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much-although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.
These are the things I want for you-to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.
I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.
Love, Dad
Barf. I hope his daughter listen to a lot of hip-hop and rap and become promiscous.
The only tear that comes to my eye is the one for the grandchild he’d allow to die if the baby were “accidentally” born alive through an abortion. He’d allow his grandchild to die in a closet of exposure or put in a medical waste dumpster. He’s a monster . . . I have no patience with this vacuous empty suit.
Exactly, I am wondering if 0 can raise two girls and be president at the same time... i.e. Sarah Palin...was asked..and it was doubted that she could..
Well during the campaign what he wanted for his daughters was for them not to be burdened with children.
Easy access to abortions is pretty much all I remember about what he said he wants for his 2 daughters. He probably doesn’t get that this means what he wants for his grandchildren is for some or all of them to not be born.
Won’t ever hear his speech. Not my president.
He’s not my President. Come and get me.
Regards, Doodle
...and in closing, despite all these lies, if you look at Daddies’ life with a critical eye, you’ll see that it’s still all about me.
Love,
Dad
(Please call me Mr. President from now on ‘cause it makes me feel good.)
My God, but I am so sick of the Obamas, and they haven’t even moved inhto the White House yet. Four years of this kind of noxious swill?
My thoughts exactly...
How phoney! That letter was meant for the masses not his daughters.
Better believe they will trot out those girls at every opputunity. I actually feel sorry for them.
The Bushes never used their girls and despite their troubles early on Jenna and Barbara have given their parents a lot to be proud of.
I also wouldn’t be shocked if he’s tanking in the polls Michelle becomes pregnant.
“Comments?”
I want to, I really, really do, but I’d better not speak my mind. However, I will say this. If Obama was writing a letter, in all sincerity, to his daughters and it had nothing to do with anything political, he would NOT have released it to the public.
The fact that he has released it, tells me what his true motivations are.
“How phoney! That letter was meant for the masses not his daughters.”
Exactly! I’m sick and tired of him assuming that the other half of the nation is as stupid as the half that voted for him.
It still is ... O is a pathetic megalomaniac who is going to wind up killing millions through his idiocy.
Is Parade claiming Obama really wrote this himself? Because this part:
“although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.”
...has appeared in all kinds of Obama speeches, from political speeches to graduation speeches. He’s used it for years. Considering what I’ve read about his magnificent writing style, I would have expected something very different and very original for his daughters.
Agree with you. It was pretty pathetic.
Ahhhhh, he’s doing it for the children. I’m now converted. /sarc
Did Bill Ayers write this too?
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