Presidential

I was born during the end of the Carter administration, so I was too young for him to make an impression on me. He liked peanuts. That was about it.

My earliest real exposure to politicians was watching Ronald Reagan on TV. I didn't understand Democrats, Republicans, or really any issues at all. Reagan seemed like a nice man. He liked jelly beans. He talked in a calm manner, almost like a whisper but with an authority you could trust. Plus, Alex P. Keaton on the show Family Ties liked Reagan, and I thought Alex was way cool.

Lyla's first memories of politicians will not involve George W. Bush. This fact makes me want to march around the living room while playing a trombone. Instead she will remember Barack Obama. And hopefully the nation he leaves for her will be a less cynical one, a nation where anybody can do anything if they're intelligent, ambitious, and good.

And who knows? Maybe we'll all be voting for her one day.