Tuesday, December 2, 2014

The Children of Presidents Are Off Limits

           Last week, President Obama pardoned a turkey, preventing the bird from being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner. However, at this traditional event most of the attention was on Sasha and Malia Obama, the daughters of the president. The girls understandably seemed bored and embarrassed by their dad's jokes. In fact, the girls' expressions and demeanor were discussed in an article written by Buzzfeed titled, "The Obama Girls Could Not Be More Bored by Their Dad's Jokes". Teenagers are notorious for being embarrassed by their parents and the media capitalized on the fact that the president's daughters are just like any other teenagers in America.
           Republican congressional aide Elizabeth Lauten disagreed with the way Sasha and Malia presented themselves, so she wrote a scathing letter on her Facebook page. In the letter, Lauten criticized the Obama girls on their seeming lack of interest in the event and poor choice in clothes. In her post, she tells the Obama girls to “...rise to the occasion. Act like being in the White House matters to you. Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar”Lauten's comments went viral and caused extreme backlash from the American public. In response to the criticism from the public Lauten resigned yesterday.
          I found Lauten's comments extremely distasteful and frankly, caused me to wonder about Lauten's sanity. I have a hard time imagining why any adult would criticize a child, and especially who is in the public eye and had no choice in the profession of their parents. Sasha and Malia behaved like typical teenagers, and I saw no reason to criticize them for their actions. Lauren is the person who acted immaturely. Unfortunately, criticism of children of presidents is not new. The daughter of Ronald Reagan, Patti Davis, wrote a letter to Sasha and Malia explaining her  experiences with the press and how "as First Daughters, you can't win". I believe all children should be off limits to the press and public criticism, regardless of political affiliation. 

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