Why Obama is so sad

President Obama on Tuesday asked for prayers because his daughters are growing up and could soon leave home for college.

{mosads}During a prayer breakfast at the White House, Obama lamented the fact that his oldest daughter, Malia, 16, is touring colleges.

“I start tearing up in the middle of the day, and I can’t explain it,” Obama said. “Why am I so sad?”

“They’re leaving me,” he added.

Malia, a high school junior, has toured several top universities over the past year. Last summer, she visited Stanford University and the University of California, Berkley. She toured New York University, Columbia University and Barnard College earlier this year.

At the breakfast, Obama also joked about taking barbs from his political opponents.

“As a Christian, I am supposed to love,” the president said after reading a biblical text about a Christian’s obligation to love his neighbors. “Sometimes, when I listen to other less-than-loving expressions by Christians, I get concerned.”

“I was about to veer off, I am pulling it back,” Obama added to laughter.