Lesson 3: Make the future your focus

Another loss in the Obama family: the way a child's life changes in the glare of campaign lights. The Senator notes that his daughters were young, 5 and 8, when he had to explain the upheaval that was about to shake their family. He may as well have been talking about his plans to file income taxes. The kids cut to the really important stuff: "Their main concern was, 'When are we going to get a dog?' They did ask about what they called 'secret people,' which were the Secret Service folks. 'Are we going to have to have these people with sunglasses and earpieces following us around all the time?' And I told them, well, not right away. They've adjusted wonderfully. And I've tried to make sure that they haven't had to participate too much in the political process.

"The pledge is" -- he can't help making campaign promises, even to his kids -- "they'll get their dog, win or lose."