Obamas Keep Girls' Feet on Ground

It can be hard enough to keep kids grounded, but Barack and Michelle Obama's task might be complicated by his quest to be the most powerful leader in the world. Not so, the Obamas tell People, in a look at how they keep it real on the campaign trail. The Democratic candidate says 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha are normal kids who make a buck a week for allowance, and fear moving to DC and making new friends should dad get the job.

"Our job, more than anything, is to make sure that in addition to monitoring whether or not they're feeling sad or neglected, that they're also not feeling special because their dad is running for president," says Barack. And every day is certainly not Christmas, Michelle adds. “Malia believes there is still a Santa Claus…Malia says, ‘Ma, I know there is a Santa because there's no way you'd buy me all that stuff.’” (More Barack Obama stories.)