by Donna LaHale

Created on: January 27, 2009

SHOULD the President's children be in the spotlight? Maybe, maybe not. WILL they be, most definitely! They will be the subject of countless reports, both televised and in print, for the next four years.

President and Mrs. Obama made a choice two years ago to pursue the highest office in the nation. The most powerful position in the world. He fought the fight as if he was absolutely determined to win. He said a lot of things during the campaign that he now says shouldn't be held against him. Things about his newly confirmed Secretary of State. Promises about the economy that he now says he may have trouble accomplishing quickly.

None of those items does he regret. Allowing his daughters to be interviewed on Access Hollywood he regrets. The girls were cute, charming and fairly quiet during the interview. Sure, they dropped a couple "gotchas" on their dad. But, they didn't disclose any crushing family secrets, and they didn't seem to draw any negative attention. As a matter of fact, the world loved them! And, at their very young age, there shouldn't be any unexpected surprises over the next four years. I anticipate we'll see photo layouts with the new puppy. They'll undoubtedly be on the lawn in their Easter finest for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Their faces will peek out from beneath cute hats as their very own Secret Service detail scuttle them from their private school into waiting cars.

This morning I heard that Mrs. Obama is "furious" that dolls of her little girls have already hit the market. My question is - what did President and Michelle Obama think would happen? They chose, together, to pursue this life. When they made that decision, they surely knew they had two daughters. I mean, after all, Sasha and Malia have been hanging around the Obama house for years. And, when they made the decision to thrust their family into the spotlight, they knew that the world would not be able to get enough of the first young children in the White House in more than a decade.

Life is a series of trade-offs. The girls get to demand handmade sugar sculptures of the Little Mermaid or Snow White at any time of the day or night. They get to bowl at 2 a.m. if they want to. They get to play in the most famous rose garden in the world. Their dad yields more power than any other man in the world. Unfortunately, they will pay the price of living in the public eye for at least the next four years.

If their parents are so concerned that they will get too much publicity, perhaps they should make the decision not to see re-election when the time comes. Something tells me they just aren't THAT worried about it!

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