Malia and Sasha Obama are unquestionably the world's most famous tweens, and they haven't even moved into the White House yet. They're only 10 and 7, and already designers are angling to dress them. They've been on the cover of People and Us Weekly. When they arrive, do they have even a chance at the normal existence their parents have often said they want for them

瑪麗亞和莎夏‧歐巴馬還未搬進白宮，無疑已是世上最有名的小孩。她們年僅10歲和7歲，但服裝設計師已卯足全力要為她們設計衣服，她們也已躍登《時人》和《Us Weekly》封面。等她們進入白宮後，她們是否可能一如父母殷殷期盼的，有機會過正常的生活？

A look at history suggests that the media, at least, will keep their distance. Chelsea Clinton, 13 when she entered the White House, was largely left alone at the request of her parents. Amy Carter, who came at age 9, was allowed to live a fairly normal life. And the much younger Kennedy kids were kept from the public glare by their mother, Jackie, who even set up a school for Caroline at the White House.

回顧歷史，至少媒體會保持適當的距離。雀兒喜．柯林頓13歲進入白宮，在她父母要求下並未受到太大干擾。艾美‧卡特9歲進白宮，她也獲准過著相當正常的生活。甘迺迪的子女年紀更小，在母親賈姬保護下並未過度曝光，賈姬甚至在白宮幫卡洛琳設校。

But this is a different world, one where photos and video can be snapped not just by mainstream photographers but by anyone with a cell phone, and uploaded to the Web within minutes. It's also a world where kids, now a powerful consumer force, eagerly devour news about celebrities closer to their own age.

但世界不同了，現在不只專業攝影師，任何人只要手機在手，就可搶拍照片和影帶，並在幾分鐘內上傳網路。這個世界的孩子現在也是消費大軍，狼吞虎嚥地搜尋他們那個年紀名人的動態新聞。

Though the Obama girls weren't constant fixtures on the campaign trail, they were hardly invisible, either. They occasionally appeared at rallies, spoke onstage to a video image of their father at the Democratic convention, and, with their parents, gave an interview to ''Access Hollywood,'' a move Obama later said he regretted. ''I think that we got carried away in the moment, '' he said. ''We wouldn't do it again.''

雖然歐巴馬的一雙女兒在競選期間不常站台，但也並非完全未露面。她們偶爾出現在造勢場合，在民主黨代表大會上登台對著父親的影像童言童語，也和她們的父母一起接受美國綜藝節目《Access Hollywood（走入好萊塢）》訪問，歐巴馬事後懊悔地說：「我想當時我們興奮過頭了，我們絕不再犯。」

Yet the girls, who captured many hearts with their poised, joyful, color-coordinated appearance on election night in Chicago, were clearly an asset to Obama the candidate, says Janice Min, editor of Us Weekly. ''These images of the Obama kids have been incredibly heartwarming,'' says Min. ''No one could doubt that these were great parents, and that they have great girls.'' But now, says Min, ''it's time for business, and I expect there will be far fewer pictures.'' Except, of course, for the inauguration-- ''everybody wants to see them in something super-cute''-- and perhaps a flurry of activity whenever their hotly awaited puppy makes his or her arrival.

但《Us Weekly》總編輯詹妮絲‧明恩表示，歐巴馬這雙女兒在芝加哥選情之夜以泰然自若、充滿歡娛、顏色很搭的打扮擄獲無數人心，她們對歐巴馬候選人顯然是一大資產。明恩說：「歐巴馬女兒的形象極度溫暖人心。沒有人懷疑，他們是很棒的父母和很棒的女兒。」但她又說：「但現在該辦正事了，我想照片應該會少得多。」當然，除了就職典禮之外，「大家都想看看她們超可愛的模樣」，另外，也許當他們熱盼已久的小狗到白宮時也少不了引起一陣騷動。

But once safely in the White House, the girls will be well protected and nurtured, says Ann Stock, who was White House social secretary during the Clinton administration. ''Will there be the occasional photo I'm sure. But the people around these girls are going to work very hard to let them go about their routines. ''

Can the girls live a normal life, or close to it Stock thinks they can.

但一旦在白宮安全保護下，兩個女孩將受到較好的保護和教養，曾在柯林頓政府擔任白宮社會福利部長的安‧史托克說。「偶爾會流出照片嗎？我確信。但兩個女孩周遭的人將努力讓她們規律正常的作息。」兩個女孩可以過正常或接近正常的生活嗎？史托克認為可以。

One author on presidential children has a more pessimistic view. In ''All the President's Children, ''

Doug Wead, a former aide to President George H.W. Bush, details the various difficulties he says White House children have experienced later in their lives. Not least of them is an identity crisis. ''Most White House children live in the shadow of the White House for the rest of their lives,'' says Wead. ''For all their accomplishments, they are forever defined by something they said or did there.''

If that's true, it could be one reason why so many White House children decline now to speak to the media, Carter and Clinton among them.

一位寫總統子女生活的作家看法比較悲觀。曾擔任老布希總統幕僚的韋德在他的著作《總統的孩子們》（暫譯）中詳述白宮子女日後所經歷的種種不同的困境，其中最嚴重的是定位危機。韋德說：「白宮大半孩子一輩子活在白宮陰影下；儘管他們日後有再大的成就，他們永遠被在白宮所說或所做過的事界定。」果真如此，這可能就是很多白宮子女拒絕向媒體發表談話的原因之一，卡特和柯林頓的孩子都如此。

But it's not a problem the Obama girls will be facing anytime soon. First, they'll have to make new friends. At school, one can assume that neither Malia nor Sasha will be the odd girl out.''I truly believe the Obamas have laid a good foundation,'' Carol Weston, an author of books for young girls and the advice columnist for Girls' Life magazine says. ''You get a sense that there's a lot of love there, a lot of back and forth. Michelle says she wants to be mom-in-chief--how wonderful is that And Barack Obama says 'I love you' to his kids right up there on the stage. That wins me over. ''

但歐巴馬的女兒短時間內還不用面對這個問題。首先，她們會認識很多新朋友，可以想見瑪麗亞和莎夏在學校都不會是獨來獨往的孤鳥。曾寫過多本少女書籍、目前擔任少女生活雜誌專欄作家的卡洛‧威斯頓說：「我真的相信歐巴馬夫婦已經打下很好的基礎，你可以感受到那一家人彼此相愛。蜜雪兒說她要當老媽總司令，真棒。歐巴馬則站在台上對孩子說：「『我愛妳們』，當場贏得我心。」

In this Aug. 25, 2008 file photo, Sasha Obama, 7, blows a kiss to her dad, while then Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama addresses the gathering via-satellite at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Looking on are Michelle Obama, and Malia, 10.

這張攝於去年8月25日的檔案照（美聯社），7歲的莎夏在丹佛舉行的民主黨全國代表大會中，透過視訊送給爸爸一個飛吻，當時歐巴馬還是民主黨總統候選人。媽媽蜜雪兒和10歲的姊姊瑪莉亞在一旁笑逐顏開。