The prospect of the lovely Obama children in the White House has me thinking about Amy Carter. I always loved Amy Carter. She was an independent thinker, very gender-bender in her own way, unapologetically political, and perhaps the first modern feminist to inhabit the White House. 
Think about it: Did any females wear pants in the White House before Amy Carter did? And look at the size of that book bag! Of course, we took a big step back with the Bush anti-intellectual hellraisers, all blank stares and cold smiles. Amy Carter was an authentic representative of her era. She was eager to protest injustice, and in fact she was willing to risk arrest while demonstrating against apartheid and military recruiting on college campuses. (Granted, this was post-White House, but she could have easily been at the country club instead.) In contrast, the Bush girls were willing to risk arrest while ordering margaritas underage in a Texas bar.
The Clintons very thoughtfully kept Chelsea out of the spotlight during her White House years. But as we can see in the photo of poor little Amy walking the gauntlet of press with her bookbag on her way to public school (yes, she went to public school), she did not enjoy the same protection. Jimmy Carter, during a debate with Ronald Reagan, even mentioned Amy's thoughts on nuclear arms control, which opened the door to the 13-year-old being held responsible for defense policy. Which come to think of it, might have brought more wisdom to the subject than did Rumsfeld, many years later.
