This story of little ones tagging along on the presidential campaign trail both warmed and broke my heart. John Edwards, Christopher Dodd, Barack Obama, Sam Brownback - they aren’t just presidental hopefuls, they’re also dads of kids under 10. And some of those kids are tagging along as they criss-cross America, sampling fried delights at state fairs, smiling dutifully for the cameras, watching speeches from the sidelines and studying with tutors in buses and Comfort Inns.

I went back and forth on this all day. The part about Malia Obama especially got me. She’s waiting for her daddy to finish the latest Harry Potter book with her, “even if she is the last nine-year-old on the planet to find out how the saga concludes,” as the New York Times reporter puts it. Oh, the yearning in that little vignette.

I don’t mean to underestimate the frustrations and sacrifices of being the spouse or child of a politician. But I do think children are more resilient than we give them credit for. And if you’re fighting the fight of your life, shouldn’t your family be there with you?

This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 9:49 pm and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.