"I Won For You," Obama Tells His Girls

Since when did politics become such a tear-jerker?

President elect and the most famous daddy in the world—Barack Obama—has written a heartfelt letter to his little girls, explaining why he had to turn their lives upside down and run for the White House.

In the emotional note, to be published in Parade magazine this Sunday, the Pres-to-be lets us in on his private hopes and dreams for Malia and Sasha, hands down some pearls of wisdom from their grandmother, and dishes out a little fatherly advice of his own.

President Obama explains to the girls that when they were born, it showed him that his own dreams of success weren't the most important thing in the world -- and eventually led him to run for President.

"I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours," he writes in the two-page letter. "And I realized that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours.

"In the end, girls, that’s why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation."

Movingly, Obama passes on the lessons that his mother, Anne Dunham, who died in 1995, taught him.

"With the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility," he says. "That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age."

And he ends the letter, signed, 'Love Dad', by telling them his take on the real secret to success. "It is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential," he imparts.