奥巴马铁汉柔肠 不舍女儿离家求学

President Barack Obama is practically weepy at the thought of his daughter Malia going off to college, a milestone many months away that is already on his mind.

Malia barely reached up to her father's shoulders when they moved to the White House nearly six years ago with her mother, little sister and grandmother. At 16, she stands nearly as tall as her 6-foot-1 dad and is visiting college campuses in preparation for that bittersweet day in the fall of 2016 when she trades her White House bedroom for a dorm.

She has been seen touring the University of California at Berkeley and the Palo Alto, California, campus of Stanford, where another president's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, attended college.

In a commencement address to high school graduates in Worcester, Massachusetts, Obama said he's practicing for what's coming in two years. 'So I'm trying to get used to not choking up and crying and embarrassing her. So this is sort of my trial run here.'

Michelle Obama is also thinking about her daughter's departure. In a commencement-eve address to Topeka, Kansas, high school seniors, the first lady said: 'Days like this make me think of my own daughters, so forgive me if I get a little teary.'

Malia's journey into the next phase of her life will be a similarly emotional time for Obama, who grew up without his dad. He talks about his desire to be a 'present' father for Malia and Sasha, 13, and how living in the White House enabled the family to spend more time together than ever before.

The Obamas lived in Chicago when the girls were born, but he was often away in Springfield, Illinois, when he was a state senator, or in Washington representing Illinois as a U.S. senator.

Children already seem to grow up too fast, but it 'happens more suddenly for a president and a president can feel cheated,' said Doug Wead, who interviewed 19 children of presidents for his book, 'All the Presidents' Children.' 'The president is feeling some angst over this, and rightly so.'

Perhaps compounding emotions for the Obamas is that they, too, will follow Malia out of the White House shortly after she starts college.

It comes amid reports Obama has reportedly already ‘checked out’ of his job even though there are more than two years left until he leaves office in January 2017, a few months after Malia departs.

The US President is said to have played 81 rounds of golf since re-election – as many as he played in his entire first term – and has holed himself up in Washington where he attends fundraisers and dinners with celebrities rather than tackling the day-to-day business of congressional politics.

He is already all but a lame duck due to deadlock on Capitol Hill and has been forced to use executive powers to enact reforms. But come the mid-term elections in November, he could lose power entirely if the Republicans take the Senate.

In the meantime, commentators claim he believes that his time in office is effectively over – and has begun enjoying himself.

US reports say he has been house hunting and has looked at a £2.5million mansion in Rancho Mirage, California – dubbed the ‘playground of the presidents’.

英国《每日邮报》报道，美国总统奥巴马可能正在为他的大女儿玛丽亚（Malia Obama）就要离家上大学一事痛哭流涕，不过这件具有重大意义的事，早已占据他的心头良久。

六年前玛丽亚和母亲、妹妹以及外祖母搬进白宫时，个头才到父亲肩膀。如今玛丽亚芳龄16岁，正在参观大学院校，为2016年秋季甜苦参半的升学日做准备。这也意味着她将要离开白宫的卧室，搬进大学宿舍。

有人看见玛丽亚参访了加州大学柏克莱分校和斯坦福大学；前总统克林顿的女儿切尔西就毕业于斯坦福大学。

奥巴马在麻萨诸塞州渥斯特（Worcester）参加一所高中的毕业典礼时说，他正在为两年后的那一刻做准备：“我正在努力适应，以防到那时哽咽落泪。我不想让我的女儿感到尴尬”。

米歇尔也在考虑女儿离家求学一事。她在堪萨斯州托皮卡（Topeka）一所高中毕业典礼的前夕对高中生发表演讲时说：“这种日子让我想到自己的女儿，难免想要落泪，希望你们能谅解。”

玛丽亚走向人生下一阶段的旅程使奥巴马情绪激动。奥巴马在成长时期缺少父亲的陪伴，他曾谈到自己希望随时陪在女儿玛丽亚和13岁的萨沙（Sasha Obama）的身边。

奥巴马的两个女儿出生之际，一家人都居住在芝加哥。然而当时，身为州参议员的奥巴马经常奔走于伊利诺斯州的斯普林菲尔德；或者以美国参议员的身份代表伊利诺斯州前往华盛顿。

《美国总统们的孩子》一书作者道格·韦德说：“小孩子本来看上去就长的快，对总统来说似乎一瞬间就长大了，所以他们感到自己被欺骗了。总统对此感动焦虑不已，的确是这样。”

奥巴马的复杂情绪还可能与他和家人将在玛丽亚上大学不久后搬离白宫有关。

尽管距2017年1月任期结束还有两年多，奥巴马已经在准备离职事宜。他在重新当选美国总统后打了81轮高尔夫，与他第一个任期时的数量相当。此外，他匿身于华盛顿名人满堂的募捐活动和晚宴，而不是去处理每日的国会政治事务。

受国会僵局的影响，奥巴马已然变成一只“跛脚鸭”，被迫使用行政权力实施改革。然而，11月的中期选举即将来临，如果共和党拿下了参议院，那么奥巴马将权力尽失。

与此同时，有政论员声称奥巴马在职的有效期已经结束，已经开始享受生活了。

有报道称，奥巴马正在找房子，并且已经在加州兰乔米拉市看中了一套价值250万英镑的别墅；该套别墅被戏称为“总统的游乐场”。