BARACK OBAMA:LETTER TO MY DAUGHTERS MALIA AND SASHA
President- Barack Obama has written a very thought-provoking letter to his daughters Malia,10, and Sasha,7. Read below as Barack Obama tells his girls why he decided to embark on the “journey” of becoming president of the United States of America:
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.
20 Comments to “BARACK OBAMA:LETTER TO MY DAUGHTERS MALIA AND SASHA”
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That was such a touching letter. It reminded me so much of my dad, well… except the running for President part. But what he said to his daughters sounded like what my father told me. Very sweet…
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I love this man!
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Whoa! That almost brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful letter from father to daughter.
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Whooooa! fighting back tears here…….Obama for the next eight years!!!!!
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omg.
he’s the best dad ever.
the best thing you can do is LOVE your children.
=]
that was touching.
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I can’t say it enough President Obama is a wonderful person. I’m trying to hold back the tears.
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Ya know, I don’t care what anybody says, a girl’s daddy is usually her first love, and he is imperative as an example of what a GOOD father should be. Unfortunately this isn’t the case with many men. I wasn’t fortunate enough to have a dad in my life (parents divorced when I was young), so it warms my heart when fathers like Barack love, raise, take care of, and nurture their children and their wives. Shame on men who fail to do so and the women that treat a man as though he is a sperm donor. Yes, women can do it alone, Lord knows my mother did, and raise wonderful kids, but there’s nothing like a wonderful daddy to be a role model for what and who a man should be.
I bet his daughters will not settle for anyone less than the kind of man that their daddy. Barack and Michelle will probably see to that.
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Awww…I love him so much!! I can’t wait until they get here to DC!! I love the way he is so open and honest with his girls and as happy as they always look you would never be able to tell that he was gone from them for almost two years. He is sooo in love with the youngest one
Him and Malia seem like they have a really good, fun and best friend type of relationship. Hopefully with him being the president this will show black families how a true healthy family operates while still handling business! If a president of the United States can take care of two kids and a wife there is no excuses for any guy out here, there is not too many people out here that are busier than the PRESIDENT!!!
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Teri and Isha yall AINT NEVER LIED!! Amen to that!
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Please pass me a Kleenex..
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Wow! That was beautiful!!! Brought tears to my eyes. You don’t really hear men sharing their feelings. He is an amazing man!!!!!!
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It is a nice letter. But, I think it would have been kept private.
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A magnificently sensitive letter by a wonderful father to his children. He sets a great example for all fathers. Rich or poor, famous or not famous, a fathers influence makes or breaks his children
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just surroun the world.n give your besting way and best support to all the children
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Sometimes you see people in high positions and you wonder what their life is like. After reading this letter I am even more sure that I voted for the right man. President Obama is a father before anything else. He has the same hopes and dreams for his children that I want for my son. The same hopes and aspirations that parents want for their children.
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I’ll take and a cue from this and write a letter to my children, Kiyesi (girl) and Irede(boy), perhaps they can learn to be heroes too like Obama, and I can be a better man.
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awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
soooooooooooooo
SWEET
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This is a beautiful letter, makes me wish I had a Daddy in my life too. Unfortunately, I didnt have one and my Mother did a marvelous job raising me. But I will always feel incomplete, always have to look to another male figure for that kind of affection.
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This was such a beautiful letter!I am in Trinidad,West Indies and I can tell you how enthused we all are down here about this man and the message his very presence in the White House sends. Some years ago I wrote a letter to my father telling him what was in my heart about all that he was to me and my appreciation about all he tried to do;he reared us four singlehandedly after our mother died at 40.I did this because I always had a difficult relationship with him as we were both very strong willed and I just could not say to his face how I loved him. He died a few years after but I was always glad I told him what I did.
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I HOPE EVERYONE WILL PICK UP THE CHALLEGE OBAMA HAS ASK US AS A COUNTRY, AND FAMILY. IT IS TIME FOR US TO STOP LOOKING TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT AND LOOK IN THE MIRROR TO EMBRASS CHANGE. IT MAY TAKE WORK, HOWEVER WHEN IS IT NOT WORTH IT? THIS COUNTY WAS BUILT ON THE SWEAT AND BLOOD OF SO MANY DIFFRENT CULTURES. SO MANY BEFORE US HAS PAVED THE WAY—WHY NOT US WHY NOT NOW?
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