I have a niece that just graduated H.S. in the Maryland/D.C. area. She was in private school for many many years. I have no idea how her parents paid for it but they managed somehow. They are not rich at all. Apparently the schools there are not good, or so I have heard over and over. I can totally see though why the Obama's put their kids in private school. The same reason the other presidents did I suppose. I agree, given all the circumstances, it probably is the only way unless they hired a private tutor. I think that during his campaign, Obama did some sort of work or was involved somehow, maybe it was just to praise the Superintendent of schools in the area, with the D.C. public schools. I think he is aware they need work, or so I heard on the news. But I think that has been very well known for years of that area so obviously the politicians that reside in that area are aware.

I can totally see the other side of the equation though; I mean, why not do what we can to get EVERY school up to standards/best they can be so that every student has a shot at a good education. Not everyone has the 'option' to pick and choose their childrens' schools so it's on the edge for the leader of the people to say, oh it's good enough for everyone but not my kids (I'm not speaking of the Obamas--just in general--most in that office with children have all done it). Don't the Obama kids go to private school in Chicago already? I saw that on t.v. the other night. But again, I would be willing to bet that the majority of senators', etc., kids all go to private schools. I could be wrong though? If he's paying for it, I guess it's his perrogative. I agree I would not want my kids in school with his children due to the liability involved and I think it would be a weird experience for the other students to have SS agents around all the time too. I think it's only fair to acknowledge that most (I would guess the percentage is very very high also) of the other politicians that live full-time in that area also have their kids in private schools, Democrats or Republicans. In a lot of cases it is hypocrytical, but I can see why the president would want that extra protection. If nothing else, think about the media control in private vs. public school. After all, the kids didnt' 'ask' to be the president's kids. I personally would never want to be in the public eye like that for fear of what it would do to my family and therefore I wouldn't run for any sort of high profile office, but to each his own I guess. They have the means to make it happen obviously. Most of today's politicians or super rich people have left planet Earth a long time ago anyway, what I mean is that they do not really know the struggles of most everyday peoples' daily lives. Again, I'm not saying this is true about the Obama's, just politicians/super wealthy people in general. I guess if I had the means to help my kids get a better education and I had to live in an area where the 'free' schools were bad, I would send them to private school too. However, I would also hope that if I was in a leadership role such as the D.C. area politicians are, I would do everything in my power to fix the problems in public schools (especially if mine were sitting in private ones due to the problems in public). .