How many people here think the White House is too fancy a house for the Obamas

[pnwmom]

to live in? That they should have to live in an average family's house?

How many people here think the President's income should be about median wage?

If you do NOT -- then you shouldn't be pushing D.C. public schools on the daughters, either. Part of the reason for the President's salary is to allow his family the options that they will have, including private schools, if they choose them. It's not up to us to decide how they should spend their own money.

[ComtesseDeSpair]

1. I just want the kids to be safe...

and if they can be safer in a private school, then that's where they should be.

[supernova]

2. Didn't Amy go to a Quaker school?

Am I remembering that right?

[pnwmom]

16. No, that was Chelsea. Amy went to public schools -- and she's the only

one in the past hundred years to have that choice made for her.

[supernova]

29. Thanks,

I remembered somebody did, but not the name. :P

[Clio the Leo]

30. I dont understand how a public school would even be possible....

..... no matter where it is for security reasons. I think them going to a public school is a grande ideal but that's all it can be. I'm certainly not going to fault them for putting them in a private school. It's what my parents would have done if we had not been fortunate to have an excellent charter school for me to go to and I didn't require a Secret Service detail.

At this point, all i'm concerned about is whether or not Amy Carter took her giant doll house with her or whether it's buried in an attic somewhere, waiting to be dusted off. lol



(also present in this shot is Misty-Malarky Yin-Yang, Amy's cat, which happened to have the best White House pet name ever! She's in the top right room, trying to eat part of the bed lol)

[pnwmom]

31. Misty-Malarky Yin-Yang? I wonder who named her?

Great name.

I hope Amy writes a memoir someday. I'd like to read it.

[Clio the Leo]

34. I dont know, but there's no doubt that was a Carter cat!

.... 'cause no way would the Bush's have a cat called "Misty Malarky Yin Yang."

(actually, the fact that the Bushs seemed to have never owned a cat further causes me to question their character ha ha)

[demokatgurrl]

37. I agree, I wish the Obamas would get a cat

as it is now they'll probably get some small, almost-hairless dog. The kind I hate. Apologies to small, almost-hairless dog lovers.

[Clio the Leo]

42. lol, let's drop a kitten off on the front porch...

... it's how I got one of mine! You cant give away a cat no matter how hard you try! And I am proof that people with allergies can live with cats! (achoo!)

[pnwmom]

48. If they're allergic to dogs, they're probably allergic to cats, too.

Since cats have even more dander.

How about a small, almost hairless cat?

[Arugula Latte]

22. Chelsea went to Sidwell Friends -- A very nice private school of Quaker origin.

[KSDiva]

24. I'm a Methodist that went to a Quaker school...

And I can tell you that those girls will be well-educated, well-cared for and well-loved at Sidwell Friends. Coming from a private, highly-rigorous private school in Chicago, I just can't see them going public. Add in the fact that their dad is president and has a whole posse of idiot white supremacists after him -- and a school that has extra protection and extra review of all students and their parents sounds like a wonderful thing to me.

[KSDiva]

25. Safety and safe rooms... question?

And doesn't SF or one of the other schools have a safe room built in too? Like a bomb or tornado shelter? Or am I insane?

[Arugula Latte]

27. Yep -- I think security is issue # 1, as well it should be.

[rvablue]

43. Amy first went to a public school and then was moved to a private school

because the Secret Service couldn't ensure her security at the public school.

[glowing]

3. I would totally go for a private school.. In DC, they would be much more used to

dealing with security issues of the high profiled children. Sorry, but if something happened to the Obama girls, this country would be so beside itself... AND our president wouldn't be able to work.

[1corona4u]

4. What, DU'ers think they have some control what the Obama's do, LOL...

the kids will go to school where the Obama's choose, whether or not a bunch of busy-bodies on this board like it or not.

[ellacott]

8. Some folks on this board did criticize them for considering a private school

I agree they should go where the parents want them to go. Michelle made that point on 60mins(not that she had to).

[Mike Daniels]

46. Which is friggin laughable since the girls already attend a private school in Chicago

I'd like to know why those posters weren't up in arms over that when Obama was just a U.S. Senator

[pnwmom]

53. Some of them didn't understand that the "Lab School" was a private school,

I think. And not just that, but an exclusive, highly competitive private school largely comprised of the children University of Chicago employees and of others with connections to the University.

[calico1]

9. Why, yes..

We tell them where their children will go to school.

And we will also choose who can and cannot serve in the Cabinet.

And they will like it, damn it.

:rofl:

[ellacott]

13. Don't forget about the puppy

They better not make a choice without consulting with us. If they don't listen to us we will stomp and whine. We will stomp our fingers until they are stubby posting the meanest thing we can think on a messageboard. :)

[fed_up_mother]

5. Good parents do what they can for their kids.

You do what you gotta' do. You do what you can. No more. No less. If that means private schools - great. If that means public schools - great.

[Jennicut]

6. Yawn. This is a retread of 1992 with Chelsea. She ultimately went to a private school

because it was safer with more security. Plus, the Obama girls already go to a private school in Chicago.

[smoogatz]

7. DC public schools are a disaster. Everyone who can afford to opt out

does. The Obamas should do what's best for their kids--and that means private schools. At the same time, though, they should work to see that DC public schools are properly funded and equipped, etc.

[Brooklyns_Finest]

10. I am a product of NYC public schools

If my parents had the money, I would have rather them sent me to a private school. The education I received was pretty good, but there is just too much drama going on in these city schools. Who wants to deal with worrying about your kid getting stabbed or shot in class?

[pnwmom]

17. And for these girls there is the added threat of terrorism.

The Security Service has enough to do, even with them in a private school.

[BeFree]

11. Not me

We should build a new house for the president, and give him a big raise.

But only after the current slobbering squatter is gone. Yeah, I'm partisan. Ya gotta a problem with that?

[WI_DEM]

12. Whatever the Obama's decide for their daughters education is fine with me.

[HereSince1628]

14. I'm looking forward to a western Whitehouse in Hawaii n/t

[pnwmom]

20. Do we get to visit? n/t

[HereSince1628]

26. Sitting in the cold winters of Wisconsin I just want the eye candy of warm sandy beaches

maybe an estate located halfway up a mountainside covered in tropical luxury.

I have to believe it would be a boon to Hawaii's tourism as well. Consequently it would be a lot better that pictures of W cutting brush down on the pig farm

[tridim]

15. It's hard to say this after Bush, but I think our Presidents should make more salary.

Since it's arguably the most difficult and stressful job in the world.

I know what you're saying about the WH, but it's also part of the job. It's more than just a home for the President. It's also an office with a large support staff and security. If anything it's probably too small.

[pnwmom]

18. It would be a big step up in salary for a retiring U.S. President

to take a job as a state university president. That shows how much the salaries have gotten out of alignment.

[npincus]

19. The Obamas should draw heavily from the experience of former presidential children

what worked, what didn't. Chelsea went to the private Quaker-run school Sidwell Friends and seemed to flourish, Amy Carter went to public school, heard that didn't go so well, but don't know the reason(s). Whatever they decide is the best for the girls, that is their business.

[pnwmom]

21. Amy Carter is the only President's child in the last hundred years

to have attended public school. According to Wikipedia,

"Amy Carter attended Washington, DC, public schools to reinforce her father's "everyman" image,<1> including Stevens Elementary School and Hardy Middle School.<2><3><4> However, Carter struggled to make friends at the schools she attended, and she was not allowed outside for recess because the school's playground was too near the street.<1>"

[KSDiva]

28. Dude. No recess? Reason number one to go private.

That would close the issue for me, assuming that money wasn't an object...

[fed_up_mother]

41. I was around when Amy Carter was in the White House, & she always looked like a pathetic little kid

Who wants to do that to their kids?

[pnwmom]

47. She seemed very lonely. n/t

[whistler162]

23. Wrong thread.....

hmmmmm!

[ismnotwasm]

32. I don't feel it's my business

I wouldn't tell any other person what school their children should attend.


What I would ask of my President and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get, on the Obama/Biden ticket, is firm support for public education. An entirely separate issue, one that *is* my business.

[Peacetrain]

33. Where will the greatest safety be afforded the Obama children.. outside of home schooling

That is first and foremost the most important thing. We are in very dangerous times with two wars going. Any other issues are so back burner. The safety of those girls AND the other children in the class with them, is item number one. And if their safety and the safety of the children with them can better be maintained in a private school setting, then by all means that is where they should be.

Anyone who thinks otherwise, does not have their best interests are heart.

[JuniperLea]

36. Yep

I'm sure all this weighs heavy on their parents' minds. It's a huge sacrifice to put your children at even the slightest risk, and to have them give up so much privacy. They should have the best and the safest possible schools, and their parents should have the means to pay for it without financial concern on the president's salary.

[pnwmom]

55. Anyone who thinks their schools should be chosen for anything

but their personal best interest (including safety, of course), doesn't have their best interests at heart.

[butterfly77]

35. Why is this question and others I have never heard...

being asked of this president? Some of the things I have heard are really ridiculous and I assume they are being asked because he is black..

[pnwmom]

49. The same people criticized Clinton for not choosing public schools.

But it does bother me that some people seem to think Obama has a special burden to pick the public schools, and I wonder why, too.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

38. the rich and powerful have different lives. i dont know why anyone is surprised by this

i just dont understand fake outrage

[rvablue]

44. And I find it funny how much DUers complain about Bill's speaking fees

and raising donations for his foundation.

I assume Obama will do the exact same thing after he leaves office.

Do people think that Carter speaks for free??????

[La Lioness Priyanka]

45. the clinton hate here is not reflective of the real world, mercifully

[pnwmom]

50. Right. The donations are going for a good cause, so what's the problem? n/t

[codjh9]

39. I agree, and as others are saying, I just want 'em to be SAFE.

[Alter Ego]

40. I don't care where they go to school--as long as they're kept safe.

[Cleita]

51. I don't understand the frenzy here about schools.

It's their choice where to send them to school or even if to send them to school. Their private family decisions are none of our business.

[pnwmom]

52. What? You don't think those girls need

100 million extra parents?

:shrug:

[Cleita]

54. LOL!

No two kids are going to be more parented than them, I'm afraid.

[pnwmom]

56. At least we can trust their primary parents to do an excellent job.

The rest of us . . . I'm not so sure about!