Malia Obama Appears in New Ads: First Daughter Overexposed for Campaign?
Malia Obama and sister Sasha are now appearing in ads for their father Barack Obama's re-election campaign. It's an interesting move for the campaign, one they are hoping will "personalize" the president, though some are wondering if the girls are being overexposed for the sake of votes.
"They're the most popular unit of the family," Tom Jensen, director of the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, told TheState.com. "Who doesn't like the girls?"
Malia and Sasha have been fiercely protected from the public until this point, and they are the focus of a new ad campaign currently airing in seven states. President Obama explained in a TV interview that his decision to puplicly support gay marriage was made, in part, thanks to the girls. That interview is now the basis of the new ads.
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"The president and first lady are loving parents who have made shielding their daughters from the glare of the media spotlight a high priority and are pleased by the respect that media, by and large, has shown for their daughters' privacy," Josh Earnest, principal deputy White House press secretary added.
The decision to use the children was not made lightly and, so far, has only been used in states where Obama faces a battle against Republican candidate Mitt Romney.
"Children have a kind of humanizing impact, and that's really what Obama needs. He needs people to vote more on whether they like him or not, regardless of his record of accomplishment," Jensen explained.
According to one report, 10-year-old Malia helped in President Obama's very first campaign. She helped distribute fliers and was by her father's side as he traveled across the country. While she has not directly used her personal Twitter account to talk about her dad or his campaign, that has not stopped people from sending the pre-teen comments about his actions.
Whether the now-14-year-old first daughter will step even further into the spotlight, following in the footsteps of former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and others before her, remains to be seen.
