Video: Obama and his family interviewed | Comment: Cynical vote-grabbing or family fun?

Barack Obama said yesterday that he regretted allowing his two young daughters to be interviewed by a showbusiness reporter and promised that they would now be kept away from the media spotlight.

The Democratic presidential nominee has pleaded for his family’s privacy to be respected, saying that they should be declared “off limits” during the presidential election.

But last weekend, when he was celebrating the birthday of his eldest daughter, Mr Obama allowed the entire family — including Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, — to be filmed answering questions by the cable TV entertainment channel Access Hollywood.

Yesterday he expressed surprise at the speed with which the four-part interview had been picked up and broadcast across the nation, saying: “We were having a birthday party, and everybody was laughing. And suddenly this thing cropped up. I didn’t catch it quickly enough.”

Mr Obama added: “It was an exception . . . I think we got carried away a little bit. Generally what makes them so charming is the fact that they’re not spending a lot of time worrying about TV cameras or politics and we want to keep it that way. I don’t think it’s healthy and it’s something that we’ll be avoiding in the future.”

One internet blog even accused him of being “willing to pimp” his kids out, suggesting that it undermined his standing “to whine about not getting any privacy”.

Another described the interview as “another brilliant/cynical switcheroo” that allowed him to present a youthful family image reminiscent of John F. Kennedy — whose glamorous presidency Mr Obama has often sought to emulate.

In recent weeks Mr Obama’s wife, Michelle, has begun what appears to be a concerted effort to soften her reputation as a tough, even angry, black woman.

The interview with the Obama family took place against the wholesome backdrop of a Western ranch in Bute, Montana. There is plenty of cute, occasionally candid, but always candy-coated banter from the girls as they discuss what it is like to have a father who is now an international political superstar.

Malia described how she reprimanded him after he greeted one of her school friends with a formal handshake. “You really don’t shake kids’ hands that much,” she told him. “You just wave or say hi.”

Cable TV viewers learn that when the children accompany him on the campaign trail they sometimes take along water pistols for amusement. “It’s a lot more fun than listening to Daddy talk,” said Michelle, prompting Sasha to raise her hands, opening and closing them as she said “Blah, blah, blah” to mock her father’s oratory.

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