Yesterday, President Obama held a “virtual townhall” in which people could write in questions and he would answer them both online and via a live (and cable news) audience. One of the most memorable questions he got was about the legalization of marijuana, but Obama kept his distance from that pretty well.

“[Question:] With over 1 out of 30 Americans controlled by the penal system, why not legalize, control, and tax marijuana to change the failed war on drugs into a money making, money saving boost to the economy? Do we really need that many victimless criminals?”

Obama actually interrupted the M.C of the event — Jared Bernstein, chief economist to the Vice President — in order to tackle the topic. He kept his answer brief.

“There was one question that voted on that ranked fairly high and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation,” he said. “And I don’t know what this says about the online audience, but … this was a popular question. We want to make sure it’s answered. The answer is no, I don’t think that’s a good strategy to grow our economy. All right.”

[From Huffington Post]

President Obama also got a question about health care policy from a nurse, and he gave a surprisingly personal answer. He spoke about his youngest daughter, Sasha, and her life-threatening case of meningitis when she was just a baby. I knew Sasha had been very sick when she was a very young child, but I didn’t know she had meningitis.

Even the leader of the free world has his weak spots. President Obama’s is his daughters.

When Sasha – “our little precious pea” – was just three months old, she was hospitalized with life-threatening meningitis, Obama said at an unprecedented White House Internet town-hall meeting Thursday.

“Very dangerous,” the President said, responding to a health-policy question from a nurse in the audience. “The doctors did a terrific job, but frankly it was the nurses that were there with us when she had to get a spinal tap, and all sorts of things that were just bringing me to tears.”

The result: Sasha, now 7, got better, and Obama will always appreciate RNs.

“I’m biased toward nurses,” he said. “I just like nurses.”

[From People Magazine]

I’m sure there are a lot of nurses out there who appreciate some love from the president. It must be absolutely terrifying to watch your infant daughter go through a spinal tap. He really just adores his girls so much, it makes me a little weepy.

As far as the marijuana stuff – well, what did you think he was going to say? That he would announce sweeping changes to drug policies to help out the stoners? Munchies are not an economic stimulus plan, and burnouts don’t help the economy.

Here’s President Obama at the Town Hall meeting in D.C. yesterday. Images thanks to Newscom.

Suri Cruise was given a rare treat yesterday: a playdate. And not with one of her imaginary friends or Katie holding a sock puppet (I know, I went there too). I’m talking real, live, humans. The Beckham boys, no less. Suri was probably confused at first since she never seems to be allowed to be around anyone but Tom and Katie. I’m sure it felt weird to see that there are other people her age. Though I’m also sure Tom has more energy than all three of the Beckham boys combined.

Talk about a power playdate.

Katie Holmes took daughter Suri, 2, to The Children’s Arts Studio in Santa Monica, Calif., on Sunday. Joining them: Victoria and David Beckham’s youngest two boys, Cruz, 4, and Romeo, 6.

Clutching a stuffed animal, Suri wore a blue-spotted dress, red-striped cardigan and red ruby shoes.

Later in the day, mom and daughter popped by Crumbs Bakery in Beverly Hills for some goodies.

Holmes recently told Glamour that she sees “glimpses of Tom and me” in Suri.

“She’s really such a special girl — strong and funny,” Holmes said. “She’s her own person. She has a great sense of humor.”

[From Us Weekly]

Not to be totally obnoxious but I think most parents feel that way about their kids. Which is good and all. Of course most kids aren’t next in line to be Scientology Princess, so that’s sort of a big deal. I do adore Suri’s shoes. I’ve seen her wear those sparkly red ones before, and I want a pair for myself. Though she can certainly pull them off better. Not that that’ll stop me, mind you.

Here’s Suri, Katie, Romeo, Cruz and Brooklyn Beckham (along with assorted child caregivers and security) yesterday. Images thanks to Fame Pictures.

Clive Owen and Julia Roberts are still promoting Duplicity. They’ve been promoting it for what feels like two months. It’s sort of reminiscent of Tom Cruise’s neverending Valkyrie press tour (which I think he’s still on, by the way). Duplicity comes out this weekend in America, and they just held the New York premiere Monday night. Clive Owen stopped and talked to OK! about the film and his life.

A lot of the quotes are the same kind of stuff he’s said before. Unfortunately, he doesn’t go into any more detail about his hot David Bowie obsession, or how Geroge Clooney is obsessed with him. Too bad. But Clive does reveal that his daughters think that he’s so utterly uncool. OK! has more:

Just because Clive Owen is a movie star doesn’t mean his family treats him like a king 24/7.

“Whenever I’ve done a movie and been away from home, I tend to take considerable downtime, and then we lead as normal of a life as we can,” the actor, 46, who has been married to wife Sarah-Jane Fenton since 1995, tells OK! at last night’s NYC premiere of his new film Duplicity, co-starring Julia Roberts “I take the kids to school, Sarah-Jane and I hang out, go out in the evenings and do all the things you’d expect.”

His daughters, Hannah, 12, and Eve, 9, like to make sure dear ol’ dad doesn’t let his ego get too big.

“They send me texts like ‘Don’t wear the velvet jacket because it’s weird and embarrassing.’ They make me too self-conscious now, like ‘Oh, I’ve gotta go and get changed in the dark.’”

Wait, they don’t think he’s rugged and cool?

“They definitely don’t think that, no. They know me better than that.”

Despite the ribbing he gets from his kids, Clive enjoys taking them to the movies.

“I’ve literally seen every kids’ movie for the last eight years I think,” he says.

[From OK! Magazine]

It’s weird to think that Clive’s daughters wouldn’t think he’s well-dressed. He’s always well attired, as far as I’ve seen. But then again, I’ve never spied him in a velvet jacket, so maybe he does have some bad clothes in the old closet. Other than that, it just seems like normal kid stuff. His girls will get how cool their dad is when they’re older.

Here’s Clive (with Julia Roberts) at the “Duplicity” premieres in New York and Paris on Sunday and Monday. Images thanks to Fame.com.

Someone at Mattel had the questionable idea to turn Dora The Explorer into a Bratz doll type tween with a giant head, lots of hair, and way too sexy look. Enthusiastic, bilingual, three-step problem-solving Dora is probably not thought to be marketable enough to the slightly older kids who are watching Britney videos and emulating Hannah Montana. They’re making Dora “grow up” into a new demographic that has more power to beg for stuff from their parents.

Mattel has only released is a “silouette” of the new Dora complete with a press release touting Dora’s growing fashion sense, but parents see the writing on the wall. Dora is about to care a lot less about catching stars, counting, and visiting her mom on archeological digs. While she’s preoccupied doing her hair Swiper is going to snatch all of Boot’s toys and she’ll just sigh and look wistfully off into the distance. Adults resent the fact that one of the only regular little girl role models for preschoolers is becoming a cookie-cutter tween complete with hair extensions, a cute little skirt and a sassy walk. I wonder if Dora will also get a pony for a sidekick and start going to the mall without a map.

As the mother of a young girl, I know very well that there are very few characters out there aimed at girls that offer the kind of message I feel comfortable with. There aren’t a lot of spunky, non-sexualized girl dolls and tv characters. Instead, preschoolers are bombarded with characters like Bratz and Barbie, two very adult characters. On top of that, Disney offers very gender-stereotyped Princesses like Sleeping Beauty and Ariel the mermaid, who use their smarts primarily to land a man and their happily ever after.

So when I find a little girl character who is smart, curious, spunky and NORMAL looking, trust me, I cling to her. Dora the Explorer is that girl. She solve mysteries by using her brain and her tools. She fearlessly explores the jungle and the rest of her world, learning new things along the way. And most important of all, she looks like a little girl, with a little pot belly and no curves. That is how little girls look. Is it so much to ask that a cartoon character of a little girl actually looks like a little girl?

Apparently, for Nickelodeon and Mattel, who own the rights to Dora, yes, it is too much to ask. They have already manipulated Dora into doing things that don’t make sense for the little explorer- she has been turned into a princess (huh?) and a mermaid (what?), clearly just to compete with the Disney Princesses. But now they are taking it a step further; the two toy companies have announced their plans to sexify Dora.

In a press release sent out last month, it was announced that Dora is growing up. “This groundbreaking initiative, featuring fashion dolls and accessories, is a completely new brand extension that empowers girls to influence and change the lives of Dora and her new friends,” claims the press release. And how are they going to empower the new “tween” Dora? “As tweenage Dora,” trumpets the release, “our heroine has moved to the big city, attends middle school and has a whole new fashionable look.” Fashion? Apparently, that is the only way toy companies can think of to empower little girls.

[From Examiner.com via WeSmirch]

I have a four year-old son who still likes to watch Dora but prefers her new primo, Diego, which is definitely targeted to little boys. Diego will keep acting like an animal rescuer on crack and jumping around saving exotic creatures. He’s not going to change, but some clueless executives made the decision to make Dora sexy and stupid to appeal to little girls. Maybe Mattel was just testing the water with the release of Dora’s new figure and that alarming press release and they’ll realize it’s a bad idea to change a very profitable formula. My kid dislikes the new plush talking Blues Clues figure and won’t watch any of those shows. Focus groups full of kids hopped up on sugar are not the best way to make multi-million dollar marketing decisions.

After kicking off her tour to rave reviews in New Orleans, Britney Spears is enjoying some downtime before her next show. She took her kids to Disneyworld before her performance at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, where her sons got to watch her concert. There have been rumors that she and Kevin Federline don’t allow their kids to watch Britneys’ performances, but she took to her official website to set the record straight.

Britney Spears took Jayden James and Sean Preston to the Disneyworld theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Florida yesterday, and it looks like everyone was having a blast at the Magic Kingdom. Jayden James couldn’t seem to let go of his Buzz Lightyear action figure, and the working mom and her boys hung out Mickey’s Toontown Fair. Brit has a concert at the American Airlines Arena in Miami tomorrow night, so it must be pretty awesome for her to squeeze in time with the boys before slipping into those risque outfits and prancing around onstage.

Speaking of that, Brit is denying rumors that K-Fed banned the boys from attending her PG-13 (at least!) concerts. The pop princess released the following statement on her official website:

“Contrary to rumors linked to false articles, Britney Spears’ sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, will be joining her on the entire Circus tour and will be attending shows as planned. Britney’s family is a huge inspiration and she loves having them on the road with her.”

[From x17 online]

It’s always fascinating how pop stars choose to raise their children in relation to their job. Sex sells, and Britney knows it. Her concerts features her wearing tight-fitting, boob-enhancing, barely-there outfits. How does she explain to her sons that it’s only okay when Mommy does it? Her official statement is a bit vague, though – she says that her kids come to the venue with her, but that doesn’t mean that they see her perform. They could very well set up a playroom with toys for the boys with no access to speakers.

I do think it’s wonderful that Britney was able to work it out that her kids could come on tour with her. In pictures of the three of them together, she always seems completely and totally happy. Hopefully this is the sign of her full recovery.

In October Celebitchy reported that Miley Cyrus was getting a whopping $4 million for her autobiography. I know, I’m still upset about it too. According to the Huffington Post, Cyrus’ work has turned into more of a memoir (I had to Wikipedia the two to distinguish the exact difference, and it turns out it’s that a memoir is less structured… which makes sense, coming from a teenager).

The Associated Press got an advanced copy, and discovered Miley is pissed at the media for implying that there’s something creepy about her relationship with dad Billy Ray.

Miley Cyrus doesn’t like to admit it, but she’s bothered by people who think there’s something wrong with the bond between her and her dad, singer Billy Ray Cyrus.

“The media has said some stuff about my dad and me being too close and too cuddly for a father and a daughter,” the 16-year-old actress-singer writes in “Miles to Go,” a new memoir. “For me and my dad it’s not weird at all.”

Cyrus’ memoir, written with Hilary Liftin, will be published next month by Disney-Hyperion Books. The Associated Press purchased a copy put on sale early.

She doesn’t directly mention last year’s photo shoot for Vanity Fair, when she is shown reclining against her father, his arm around her shoulder, both of them somber and bare-armed _ an image many found suggestive. But she does write that she loves her father (who co-stars on her “Hannah Montana” show), isn’t afraid to show it, and “we don’t let other people tell us what expressions we’re supposed to have on our faces when we take a picture together!”

Acknowledging that fame inevitably attracts criticism, she writes of being hurt by comments posted about her on the Internet and concludes that some people are “so full of anger, hatred and bitterness.”

[From the Huffington Post]

Just because someone points out that Miley has an unusually close relationship with her dad doesn’t mean they’re filled with “of anger, hatred and bitterness.” I suppose it can depend on the context of what was said, and I’m sure it’s natural to get defensive over something like that. Miley and Billy Ray don’t have to alter their relationship to make it look like something more distant so that everyone else feels more comfortable with it. And similarly, the rest of the world doesn’t have to smile and zip their lips while acting like there’s nothing unusual about their father/daughter relationship.

Honestly I see that it provides fodder for jokes, but for the most part I think it’s nice that they’re so close. People can and will twist things, and that sucks for any 16-year-old. Most of us have to go through it on a high school level, but Miley has to deal with it in a much more public way. So it’s logical that her reaction is going to be a bit bigger too. I’m not sure that it’s appropriate to label everyone else some version of sad and pathetic, but it is understandable.

Photos are from VanityFair.com, from Miley’s cover shoot last spring.

Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen have been fighting an epic war of “Who’s the craziest person,” for the last few years. And the funny thing is – for the most part – they’re both winning. Sheen has been trying to prevent Richards from featuring their daughters on her reality show, “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated,” for fear they’d be exploited. The courts have sided with Denise, and the premise of the show was a young, hot, single mom looking for love.

But Sheen has finally won and E! has given in – now the show will have to take a new – and equally innovative – direction.

Watch for BIG changes on the second season of the DENISE RICHARDS reekality show, “It’s Complicated.”

Thanks to interference from dad-on-patrol CHARLIE SHEEN, two faces will be noticeably absent, their daughters SAM, 4, and LOLA, 3.

After protective dad Charlie threatened exec producer RYAN SEACREST and E! TV with everything from baseball bats to legal action, they finally caved to his insistence that the girls shouldn’t be on-camera and on-set endlessly.

Ryan finally bowed to Charles-In-Charge, and now the show will focus on Denise as a dating single mom.

Ryan promises a hipper story line focusing on Denise’s bosom…er, bosom buddies and her, shopping, bopping and gallivanting to Vegas on girls-gone-wild forays.

[From the National Enquirer]

It still sounds completely unwatchable. Charlie and Denise have so much vitriol for each other that it was always hard to tell who the crazy one was. Clarification: crazier one. But it seems to me it’s probably Denise. Their kids always look so miserable in photos. It was a big deal the one time a photographer caught them smiling. The last thing they need is the pressure of performing on camera. Yeah it’s a reality show, but let’s be real – most of it is staged. Those two little girls need as much privacy and normalcy as they can get. And I really doubt their absence will make the show noticeably worse. Mostly because it was impossibly bad to begin with. Why drag little kids into that mess?

Here’s Denise cruising through Park City, Utah during the Sundance Film Festival on January 18th. Images thanks to Fame.

The international press tour for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has been rather strange. First, Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett has been absent for a large part of promotional duties. Second, Brad Pitt has been promoting this thing non-stop for like three months. Third, many of Brad’s interviews border on the morose, perhaps because of the subject matter of the film, perhaps because Brad is in a more mature place now.

Benjamin Button is about to open in Britain, and Brad has a new interview in the Telegraph. Brad talks about death and dying again, but I’m really starting to feel him in this one. It’s one of his best interviews this whole press tour. First, Brad talks about Angelina and the kids, saying that he and Angie “enhance each other”. He also makes some news by saying they’ve “found no reason to stop” having kids, so they are definitely going to have another child.

Brad Pitt has a reputation for being cheery and affable when he is making a movie. But not this time: the dark shadow of death hung over the set of his latest film, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.

Angelina Jolie’s mother died a month after they began filming, director David Fincher’s father died, as did writer Eric Roth’s mother. And, to top it all, the film’s controversial theme of ageing forced the actor to confront his own mortality.

“I walked away realising that time is short,” he says, talking on a sound stage at the Warner Bros studios in Burbank, California. “I don’t know if I have a day or 10 days or 10 years or 40 years. Am I halfway or am I close to the end? I don’t know, so I have to make sure I don’t waste those moments in any kind of pettiness or bitterness or laziness, and that I surround myself with the people who are most important to me.”

“Angelina and I are together because we can enhance each other. I don’t want to waste any time because I’m with company I really, really love.”

As well as Angelina Jolie, the company includes their adopted children Maddox, seven, Pax, five, Zahara, three, and their biological babies Shiloh, two, and twins Knox and Vivienne, who were born in last July.

To make the most of the time he has left, Pitt and Jolie are already planning to add more children to their family. “We haven’t found any reason to stop yet,” he laughs. “It’s chaos at times, but there’s such joy in the house. I look and there’s our boy from Vietnam and our daughter from Ethiopia, and our girl was born in Namibia, and our son is from Cambodia, and they’re brothers and sisters, man. They’re brothers and sisters and it’s a sight for elation.”

“We have the capability to give a child a home, and let me tell you it’s selfish, too, because the reward has been extraordinary.”

The twins, he says, mean double the pleasure. “One seemed simple, and it’s just double the fun. It’s surprising how soon their personalities have started emerging. But it’s really important that everyone gets their individual time as well as group time together.”

“We were four before, and we got into our rhythms and it worked. Then someone new comes in, and it discombobulates the movements for a moment, but then you settle in again and it just all works. Everyone’s pretty well integrated. It’s not the first time new kids have come in.”

[From The Telegraph]

Brad also talks about how much his life and perspective have changed in the past four years, and how playing Benjamin Button is a reflection of that change. Brad says that the kids haven’t started asking questions about death yet, but it’s coming. He also clarifies some issues about traveling with his children and their education, something many anxious parents fret over with this family.

Pitt is feeling a little jet-lagged, having flown in from Berlin, where he and the family are living temporarily while he films the Second World War story Inglorious Bastards for Quentin Tarantino.

He received a Golden Globe best-actor nomination for his role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in which he plays a man born old and wrinkled and then ages backwards. Aged 50, he falls in love with a 30-year-old woman (Cate Blanchett) and they must come to terms with the relationship as they age in opposite directions. “It’s about looking back on your significant moments in life,” he says.

The film’s story and the deaths of relatives of people around him set him thinking about pain and loss. “I had a friend who worked at a hospice, and he said people in their final moments don’t discuss their successes, awards or what books they wrote or what they accomplished. They only talk about their loves and their regrets, and I think that’s very telling.”

He has not yet discussed matters of life and death with his children. “Our oldest is seven and at the point where he’s asking these questions, but the others are too young, but I wrestle with it now.”

“It’s hard to help them fully comprehend this, and I don’t know if they’re meant to comprehend it yet, in all fairness, but it’s a big issue.”

Their filming schedules and charity work take Pitt and Jolie around the world, and the children go to school in whichever country they happen to be at the time. “We’re a very nomadic family, and it works for us,” says Pitt.

“The value of it is that the family becomes the core, and the kids may not understand the places they see at this early age, but I know it’s seeping into their consciousness. We move quite well, and I don’t think it’s taking its toll. We have to think about schooling, though, and we’re in an international programme, so wherever we go it’s the same curriculum.”

[From The Telegraph]

And finally, Brad talks about the charity work he’s involved in, specifically the Make It Right NOLA stuff. He says that 100 homes will be up by this time next year.

While filming demands keep him busy, his charity work takes up even more of his time. Like Jolie, he has learned to make good use of his celebrity status to promote the causes close to his heart, such as fighting poverty and hunger in third-world nations. A keen student of architecture and a close friend of leading architect Frank Gehry, he has also been using his money and knowledge to help rebuild areas of New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

He says the project is going well: “We wanted to help people to be able to return to the city because they were in limbo and wanted to come back, but whole neighbourhoods had been wiped out. We saw this as an opportunity to be a proving ground for high-performance buildings and a greener approach.

“Now, for an area like this that suffered such injustice to suddenly become the greenest, most advance neighbourhood in the US is an incredible achievement. This time next year we’ll have more than 100 homes up, and there’s no reason this shouldn’t work outside New Orleans. There’s something at play here that is bigger than just a starting point.”

Pitt sees his duties as being a companion and father, making movies and helping charitable causes. “What’s valuable to me has become clearer as I’ve got older,” he says.

“To me, it’s about the value of your time and your day and the value of the people you spend it with. It’s about me being a strong father and guide and a good match for my significant other. Then, if I’m going to go to work, it must be something of value to me.
“I’m much more experienced now, so I can find films that are interesting quicker and cut out the films that don’t really matter. It means more to me now because my kids are going to see them, and I want them to be proud.”

[From The Telegraph]

Look at that, a whole interview without mention she-who-shall-not-be-named. Good for Brad! Maybe I’ve just given in to the depressing subject matter being discussed in this never-ending Button junket, but this really was a good interview.

Here’s Brad and Angie at the SAG awards on Sunday. Images thanks to WENN.

New pics posted on the official Britney Spears website show the rehabbed pop star looking fierce in rehearsals for her upcoming “Circus” tour. Clad in a skimpy bikini top and low-rise sweats, Spears is shown dancing up a storm and looking seriously hot. But she’s still getting steamed under the collar about the amount of time her ex-husband’s new girlfriend, Victoria Prince, is spending around their two boys – and she has no problem letting K-Fed know it.

On Monday, a longtime Spears insider called this column to share tidbits from a nasty phone fight between the entertainer and K-Fed — mostly focusing on Spears’ obsession with Prince, especially when it comes to her children.

Calling the conversation a “total hysterical screaming match,” the source claimed Spears told Federline in no uncertain terms she did not want “that [c-word] anywhere near my kids.” The witness also reported that Federline apparently went into some detail — on the other end of the phone line — telling Spears, “You really don’t have much say about that.” That was a clear reminder the singer still has limited parental rights when it comes to her sons Sean Preston and Jaden James.

Britney is furious because she and Federline had gone to a couple of counseling sessions she thought might lead to a reconciliation, but he thought were more to help them have a civil relationship as they deal with their kids, etc.

Another Spears associate said Spears and Federline recently had been getting on so well, Britney had invited him to join her next tour in some capacity. She has now reportedly rescinded that offer, though Federline apparently told her he never even would have thought about it.

The Monday argument is only the latest in several similar disagreements the former couple has had the past few days — all centered on similar issues, particularly Prince’s increasingly high-profile role in the boys’ lives.

The good news: “Unlike in [other traumas in] the past, Britney didn’t go take a pill or a drink, but went downstairs and did some yoga to calm down. … I think that’s a good sign she’s growing up and dealing with Kevin’s b.s.,” added the source.

[From The Chicago Sun-Times]

Well, I suppose doing yoga instead of getting hopped up on booze and pills is progress for Britney – but after all this time, she should be able to understand the difference between K-Fed trying to get along for the sake of the kids and trying to get back together with her. It doesn’t seem as though there is any interest in a reconciliation on his end, so she needs to let that go – and that includes calling his girlfriend the c-bomb. This latest incident probably stemmed from some new paparazzi photographs over the weekend of K-Fed and Victoria taking the boys out to eat. Sean was pictured sitting in Victoria’s lap looking very happy. I’m sure Brit feels threatened by that, especially since Sean doesn’t seem to have bonded with his mom the way Jayden has.

But if the boys seem to like Victoria, and she treats them well, it really is the best case scenario in a divorce. Britney should be happy about that. And about her six-pack abs.

Here’s Britney looking amazing practicing for her upcoming concert tour. Photo credit: BritneySpears.com

Last night Malia and Sasha Obama along with Joe Biden’s four granddaughters were front and center for the Kids’ Inaugural Concert at the Lincoln Memorial. The concert featured performances from the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Miley Cyrus, who sang a duet with her dad Billy Ray. The event sounds like a lot of fun, and the girls all seemed to really enjoy themselves.

The night before becoming America’s next first daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama got toasted by tweens. Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers were among the acts that performed at the Kids’ Inaugural Concert, an invitation-only event for military families and other area children at the Lincoln Memorial on Monday.

Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, offered small waves to the crowd before taking their seats in the front row with their J. Crew-clad mother, Michelle Obama, and Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s four granddaughters.

“What an amazing show,” Michelle Obama — who also signed autographs — told the crowd. “You kids are the future of this great nation. At this moment in our nation’s history, we wanted you to be able to join in this celebration.”

The crowd went wild for the Jonas Brothers. Both Malia and Sasha jumped up when the boys took the stage and started clapping. They danced along with their mom and Biden’s grandchildren. Sasha even took several steps ahead of Michelle to take a picture. She was working the camera as the boys, one by one, walked to the section of the stage nearest to them.

Another show highlight? Miley Cyrus. She dedicated her inspirational tune “The Climb” to the Obama daughters. “You girls must be awfully proud of your dad — and so am I,” said Cyrus, who sang with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, on stage. After her performance, an out-of-breath Cyrus got off stage to shake hands with the Obama girls.

[From Us Weekly]

Comedian George Lopez also performed, and the girls cracked up at his jokes. It sounds like this was a fun and entertaining way to get kids interested in politics a little bit and show them that they matter too. It’s not just something only adults can be interested in.

The Obama girls are going to get a lot of attention in the next 4-8 years, though obviously the president and first lady are going to do their best to keep their lives as normal as possible. But considering how drastically everything has changed, it’s nice that they can get some fun in there too.