A Social media post that has since been deleted demonstrated a new low for attacking innocents for no other reason than they are related to a politician.   Whatever your political leaning, I hope you agree with me, that our elected officials and their staff should always refrain from attacking children of politicians.  I believe it is hard enough for families, who are already in a fishbowl environment to have every behavior scrutinized, especially for a child whose brain has yet to fully develop publicly.  Below is the post from the Congressional staffer, who happened to be working for a Republican from the South.

Elizabeth Lauten, spokeswoman for Republican Congressman Stephen Fincher of Tennessee, wrote a scathing post to her Facebook account scolding Malia and Sasha Obama, 16 and 13, for looking bored while attending a public event with their father on Wednesday.

In the post, since deleted but widely reproduced in screen grabs, Lauten tells the girls to “try showing a little class. At least respect the part you play.”

The girls stood beside Obama — looking vaguely bored — as he issued the annual Thanksgiving turkey “pardon,” saving two birds from the dinner table.

The underwhelmed expressions of the teenaged sisters sparked mainly amused comment, but Lauten’s remarks were notably more caustic.

“Then again, your mother and father don’t respect their positions very much, or the nation for that matter,” Lauten wrote in her post.

To be honest, I the behavior of teenagers at such an event is of no consequence to me.  What does matter, however, is that some believe anything, including our children, is fair game in the constant sniping between the Democrats and Republicans.  I think the post reflects the lack of respect to the office of the Presidency by this Elizabeth Lauten.  It also shows her lack of respect for family values and lack of any sensitivity to children thrust into public life. Having two college aged children, I can understand teenagers looking bored at an event to pardon a turkey around Thanksgiving, since they probably witnessed this 6 times before!

I hope we learn from this poor decision and in the future all make a concerted effort to endeavor to protect all children rather than use them as pawns to harm others!