Efforts have been made to hide President Barack Obama's daughters, 11-year-old Sasha and 13-year old Malia from the media in the past, but it appears as though there has been a change of heart by the President himself when it comes to using the girls in campaign ads.
According to The State, Obama's daughters have been making more public appearances, as their father comes closer to Elections. They were first featured in a Father's Day video (as seen below) and now an ad campaign in "Seven battleground states."
According to International Business Times, Director of Public Policy Polling Tom Jensen said Obama is using his daughters strategically as part of his master plan to up the ante in likability.
"Children have a kind of humanizing impact, and that's really what Obama needs," Jensen told the State.
According to Jensen, the Obama girls are an easy way to boost popularity and maintain a family man image.
"They're the most popular unit of the family," Jensen said, noting Obama's daughters had a 54 percent favorability rating in 2009. "Who doesn't like the girls?"
"Voters feel like things haven't changed as much as they wanted. The economy still is not where they wanted it to be. He needs people to vote more on whether they like him or not, regardless of his record of accomplishment."
Including Malia (who will be turning 14 on July 4) and Sasha Obama in campaign ads is an interesting move and is adrift from prior months when principal deputy White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the President and First Lady "made shielding their daughters from the glare of the media spotlight a high priority."
"You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples," Jensen said. "There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we're talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently. It doesn't make sense to them and frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective."
