[A note — I used to blog much more about my personal political views when I was a teacher, not a principal. As a principal, I blog much less about my personal beliefs outside of education for a lot of reasons. But in the end, this blog isn’t a school blog, it’s my personal blog, and I asked myself tonight why I had no ideas to blog about this week, and it’s because I, like most of America, have been watching this election so closely. I respect that not everyone thinks that I should write publicly about my political views, and I respect that not everyone shares those views — and not everyone at SLA shares those views. That’s o.k., but I need to write this anyway.]

The McCain commercials that have been airing in Pennsylvania this week have been about fear. I saw my first 527 Reverend Wright ad tonight. I watched McCain surrogate “Joe the Plumber” question Obama’s patriotism. And I’ve been offended and frightened. Offended because I cannot believe that John McCain has been willing to stoop so low, and frightened because it has worked before.

So I watched Obama’s speech in Ohio last week. If you can’t watch the whole thing, watch the last seven minutes.

And then read this — My Wife Made Me Canvass for Obama.

And remember, that we as Americans have a choice about our nation. We can make a choice this week to believe in the best that we can be. I believe that this election has the chance to revitalize our political process. I believe that if Obama wins, we will have invited a generation of young people to the political process. I believe that if Obama wins, we will have invigorated people all over the demographic map – people like my mother who has spent hundreds of hours volunteering for the campaign. I believe that these people have worked for Obama because they were inspired by him.

And that’s the thing. I want a political who inspires. I am envious when I hear my mother and father talk about what it was like to listen to JFK’s inaugural speech. I remember the hope I had for Clinton.

And I remember watching Obama’s speech in Philadelphia and thinking that I was hearing something truly different than I had ever heard from a politican in my lifetime.

We have the chance to vote for someone who believes in the best of what we can be. We have the chance to vote for someone who believes that the American Dream must be open to all who are willing to work for it. We have the chance to vote for someone who believes that politicans of either party have an obligation to work for all Americans.

On Tuesday morning, I’m going to take Jakob by the hand, down to my polling place, and I’m going to take him into the ballot booth with me as I vote for Barack Obama. I hope that, years from now, he remembers the moment as a powerful piece of his own and our country’s history.

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Tags: politics