COMING IN LIKE THE GIPPER WENT OUT:

Obama pens letter to his daughters (NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, 1/14/09, Politico)

President-elect Barack Obama has penned a letter to his daughters about his plans for the White House and explains why he has taken his family “on this great adventure.” In the letter, featured in the upcoming issue of Parade Magazine, Obama writes, to Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7:

“There are things that I want for you—to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help built that world.”

He says he hopes that his daughters will take up the work of “righting wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you’ve had.”

Obama also talks about his own life as a young man, saying he was self-involved but fatherhood changed all that. “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,” he writes.

“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.”