The XX Factor: What women really think.

Responding to Sam's question about whether President Obama's campaign served his daughters up as "accessories for his Family Man ensemble," pampering and showing off our delightful children are among the great rewards of parenting. Although normally, the gifts and attention we direct to our children are on a more personal scale, bringing them into the spotlight on special occasions (announcing Dad's candidacy, Malia's birthday, Dad's election victory and swearing in), or making special treats available (the Jonas Brothers!), are a natural extension of the first couple's well-deserved pride in their charming and adorable daughters. That said, too much attention can be toxic. When they make up a guest list for the next White House sleepover, the children may feel serious politicking from among their new 2^nd second- and fifth-grade classmates. The Obamas now need to definitively address the tsunami of attention the 7- and 10-year-old little girls are attracting. While there is still no sashaandmalia.com domain, there are already a number of high-traffic blogs and Web sites devoted to fans of the first daughters. Michelle's statement that the controversial "Marvelous Malia" and "Sweet Sasha" dolls are "inappropriate" is not enough. Although I love the new president's policy of transparency, he and Michelle need to draw a curtain across coverage of these minor children to protect their images and names from being commoditized in the marketplace.