Hillary's The Best Reason To Get Out Of School

Every kid wants to get out of school early, right? OK, in fairness, I realize some don't — better students than I was, probably. But as a kid with a peculiar interest in politics, I would've relished the opportunity to duck out of class for a day if I had a solid excuse... you know, like meeting a presidential candidate. And if the candidate actually took notice, all the better! Like on Tuesday, when Hillary Clinton tweeted out Ollie Olson's note that she'd signed to excuse him.

For Clinton, it's a nice, light little aside in what's already bound to be a stressful time. After all, her campaign's just getting rolling — she held her first major rally in New York on Saturday. It's a politically edgy embrace of missing class, perhaps, but a heartwarming sight nonetheless, with the Ollie Olsen writing to his teacher that he was taking off class to meet the Democratic presidential frontrunner. And she apparently did him the best favor a politician can do in that situation — signing off on the note herself. Whether or not she ends up winning the presidency in 2016, that should be a pretty nice souvenir.

Pretty cool, huh? Growing up in Northern California, I had a few brushes with some high-profile politicos — 2000 presidential candidate Bill Bradley, and California Senator Barbara Boxer. But nobody quite on Clinton's level, as a former First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State, and someone who could end up being the first woman to be elected president in American history. Shattering that "highest, hardest glass ceiling," as she's often called it, e.g. an occasion that's long past due.

Hopefully, Ollie's teacher was understanding, given the verifying signature on the note. It was nice of Clinton to add that asterisk with the word "really," because I'm not sure I'd necessarily recognize her signature without looking it up somewhere. But, as you can see more clearly compared with her signature below, it is indeed the genuine article.

So, luckily, little Ollie is probably in the clear. Although I guess that's not guaranteed — his teacher could be a far-right Republican, after all. Maybe a Ted Cruz voter? Here's hoping he has some good memories of meeting Ms. Clinton, because when it's all said and done they could end up being historic ones.

Images: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain