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Posted
Monday, January 26, 2009 1:01 PM
| By
Elisheva Weiss
It's funny, Samantha, because when I read Barbara and Jenna Bush's letter to Sasha and Malia, I scoffed at the latter part of the sentence, "Our dad, like yours, is a man of great integrity and love; a man who always put us first." Really? The president of the United States always put his children first? I have no ability to assess the parenting skills of Bush or Obama, but I think that being president necessarily entails putting the country before your children. I don't know how to answer Samantha's question of whether it's a worthwhile trade for the parents or the children, and I can only thank the people who are willing to give up so much to serve the United States, but the assertion that the president always puts his (or, someday, her) children first strikes me as impossible. I think the president gives up that ability when he takes the oath of office.
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