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President Barack Obama is practically weepy at the thought of his daughter Malia going off to college, a milestone many months away that is already on his mind.

Malia barely reached up to her father's shoulders when they moved to the White House nearly six years ago with her mother, little sister and grandmother. At 16, she stands nearly as tall as her 6-foot-1 dad and is visiting college campuses in preparation for that bittersweet day in the fall of 2016 when she trades her White House bedroom for a dorm.

She has been seen touring the University of California at Berkeley and the Palo Alto, California, campus of Stanford, where another president's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, attended college.

In a commencement address to high school graduates in Worcester, Massachusetts, Obama said he's practicing for what's coming in two years. 'So I'm trying to get used to not choking up and crying and embarrassing her. So this is sort of my trial run here.'

Michelle Obama is also thinking about her daughter's departure. In a commencement-eve address to Topeka, Kansas, high school seniors, the first lady said: 'Days like this make me think of my own daughters, so forgive me if I get a little teary.'

Malia's journey into the next phase of her life will be a similarly emotional time for Obama, who grew up without his dad. He talks about his desire to be a 'present' father for Malia and Sasha, 13, and how living in the White House enabled the family to spend more time together than ever before.

The Obamas lived in Chicago when the girls were born, but he was often away in Springfield, Illinois, when he was a state senator, or in Washington representing Illinois as a U.S. senator.

Children already seem to grow up too fast, but it 'happens more suddenly for a president and a president can feel cheated,' said Doug Wead, who interviewed 19 children of presidents for his book, 'All the Presidents' Children.' 'The president is feeling some angst over this, and rightly so.'

Perhaps compounding emotions for the Obamas is that they, too, will follow Malia out of the White House shortly after she starts college.

It comes amid reports Obama has reportedly already ‘checked out’ of his job even though there are more than two years left until he leaves office in January 2017, a few months after Malia departs.

The US President is said to have played 81 rounds of golf since re-election – as many as he played in his entire first term – and has holed himself up in Washington where he attends fundraisers and dinners with celebrities rather than tackling the day-to-day business of congressional politics.

He is already all but a lame duck due to deadlock on Capitol Hill and has been forced to use executive powers to enact reforms. But come the mid-term elections in November, he could lose power entirely if the Republicans take the Senate.

In the meantime, commentators claim he believes that his time in office is effectively over – and has begun enjoying himself.

US reports say he has been house hunting and has looked at a £2.5million mansion in Rancho Mirage, California – dubbed the ‘playground of the presidents’.