Obama Frequently Mentions His Daughters in Public Remarks In describing his personal "evolution" on same-sex marriage, President Obama cited the importance of private, dinner-table conversations with his daughters - the latest example of him mentioning his children in public. There is almost no subject more sensitive to first couples than family privacy - and the Obamas are no exception. Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, zealously seek to minimize reporting about their daughters, Malia, 13, and Sasha, 10, in an effort to make growing up in the White House as normal as possible. And yet, Mr. Obama rarely passes up an opportunity to mention his girls in public, often using them as object lessons in explaining his reasoning behind important policy positions. On Wednesday, he did it again, suggesting to ABC's Robin Roberts that it was, in part, discussions with his daughters about friends who have gay parents that helped him "evolve" on the issue of same-sex marriage. "You know," Mr. Obama said in an interview, "Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. 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. Mr. Obama is by no means the first president to refer to his children in public. George W. Bush talked about his twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, on occasion, and Bill Clinton did the same with his daughter, Chelsea, even speaking at her high school graduation. And news organizations − including The New York Times - have almost universally respected Mr. Obama's desire to shield his daughters from coverage as they go about their lives - at school, during soccer games or on vacation. But Mr. Obama's mention of his daughters Wednesday was no aberration. He talks about them constantly in policy speeches, at fund-raisers and in interviews. A review of transcripts released by the White House shows that Mr. Obama has mentioned his daughters in public remarks more than 100 times over the last three years. Sometimes, it is a passing reference intended to emphasize his status as a regular family guy who happens to be living in the White House. Other times, he talks about them as a way of making a specific point more directly. In a speech on college affordability last week, for example, Mr. Obama referred to his daughters twice, joking that he often tells them to focus on math and science, and then later noting that paying off his own student loans got in the way of saving for their college education. "When we should have been starting to save up for Malia's and Sasha's college educations, we were still paying off our educations," Mr. Obama said. In a speech on energy in February, Mr. Obama sought to emphasize how generational expectations differ by saying that "when I talk to Malia and Sasha - you guys are so much more aware than I was of conserving our natural resources and thinking about the planet." Without naming his daughters, Mr. Obama referred to them during his remarks about the killing of Travyon Martin, who was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida. "When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids," Mr. Obama said. Mr. Obama often uses his daughters to express his hopes for the future. During a speech on the American Jobs Act in November, he said, "I want our kids to grow up - I want Malia and Sasha and all your kids, I want them to come into a country that is built on those big, generous values." At a fund-raiser last September, Mr. Obama criticized Republicans for pursuing a government that he said would "fundamentally cripple America," adding "that's not the kind of society that I want to bequeath to Malia and Sasha - and your children and your grandchildren." Sometimes, Mr. Obama brings up his daughters as part of a humorous aside. At a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, that makes the Jeep Wrangler, Mr. Obama last year joked about the car's reputation. "It symbolized freedom, adventure, hitting the open road, never looking back - which is why Malia and Sasha will never buy one," he said. Until maybe they're 35. I don't want any adventure for them. At an event to unveil fuel efficiency standards, Mr. Obama joked that he was still waiting for the right car for his oldest daughter. "As some of you may know, it's only a matter of time until Malia gets her learner's permit," Mr. Obama said. So I'm hoping to see one of those models that gets a top speed of 15 miles an hour, the ejector seat anytime boys are in the car. But more often than not, Mr. Obama's references to his daughters are serious rhetorical efforts aimed at punctuating a policy choice's impact on the public, and especially on future generations. During a speech on the No Child Left Behind law last year, Mr. Obama emphasized parents" responsibility in making sure their children are studying. "Malia and Sasha would often rather be watching "American Idol" or "SpongeBob," but Michelle and I know that our first job, our first responsibility, is instilling a sense of learning, a sense of a love of learning in our kids," he said. And so there are no shortcuts there; we have to do that job. And we can't just blame teachers and schools if we're not instilling that commitment, that dedication to learning, in our kids. Perhaps no moment was more dramatic than when Mr. Obama referred to Sasha's health crisis as an infant in explaining his rationale for pushing health care reform. In September 2010, with the November midterm elections approaching, Mr. Obama recalled at a backyard discussion on health care the panic he felt when Sasha fell ill at 3 months old. "As a parent, you start recognizing, that's not how she cries," he said, describing the diagnosis of meningitis that she was given. She wasn't hungry, it wasn't a diaper change. Something was going on. "I still remember that feeling of just desperation, watching the nurse take her away to provide treatment for her," he said. But I was thinking, what if I hadn't had insurance? What if I was looking at my bank account and I didn't have the money to cover her? How would I be able to face my wife, and how would I be able to look in the mirror if I didn't feel like I could somehow make sure they were O. K.? "And that's what this is about, ultimately," Mr. Obama concluded.