Sasha and Malia Obama‘s first day at a new school is the beginning of life lived under intense scrutiny, and their father knows it: His camp released pictures of them getting ready this morning.
And unlike the reporter from the Today show, CNN took pictures right in front of the school, in case you’re dying to know what Michelle, Sasha and Secret Service dudes look like from the back.
There’s also a play-by-play of what transpired this morning as the girls were dropped off: Sasha carried a bookbag! A French photographer called out to Sasha but called her Malia! Writes Politico’s Nia-Malika Henderson: “There wasn’t much to see.”
Meanwhile, people swear that Sidwell Friends is the kind of school where being the daughter of the first black president is “no big deal.” A senior at the school tells CBS news that while the Obama buzz is all over campus, it’s not likely to last much longer than recess. “In every grade at Sidwell, you have the children of diplomats and of wealthy parents, but you really don’t notice a difference,” says former student Delaney Kempner. Sure, sure. The kids may have moms and dads who are rich and powerful, but no one can beat Barack Obama as a sheer global phenomenon right now. No one. Hence the CNN photographers.
What remains to be seen is whether, as Politico’s Ben Smith muses, having kids at school will “help humanize the president as time goes on” or “make public life more like a reality show than it already is.” Okay, but: Hasn’t Barack Obama already been humanized? That just leaves the circus-like reality show. Not a great way to spend your childhood.
First Day Of School, Malia & Sasha Prepare For Sidwell, Malia And Sasha Start School [Politico]
Malia And Sasha’s First Day Of School [CNN]
Obama Girls A Student Here? No Big Deal! [CBS News]
Earlier: Today Show Tries To Respect Obama Girls’ Privacy; Fails