Obama daughters to fly to Dad's big speech in North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AFP) - Malia and Sasha Obama will fly to North Carolina on Thursday to watch their dad's big convention speech, but won't be allowed to duck out of school for the day.

The Obama daughters will finish their day at the private Sidwell Friends School before being taken from Washington to Charlotte to see President Barack Obama ask Americans for a second term, campaign spokesman Jen Psaki said.

Malia, 14 and Sasha 11, watched their mother Mrs Michelle Obama's emotional speech on Tuesday at home at the White House, cuddling up with their dad on a couch as they were pictured in an official administration photo.

The Obamas have been fiercely protective of the privacy of their daughters as they grow up under public scrutiny in the White House, and they rarely attend re-election campaign events.