Paternal Love

After watching the VP debate last night, I'd like to commend Joe Biden for a powerful display of emotion that could be a game changer for years to come.

In rebutting Sarah Palin's sexist notion that only a mother can know the feeling of worry about the welfare of her children and therefore she, as a mother, was better equipped to bring that concern to bear from the office of vice president, Biden lowered a bucket into the deep well of his own personal tragedy to point out something that is often missing from public official's media events - the reality that fathers, too, have deep love and concern for their children, as pronounced and vibrant as that of a mother, and this love helps to shape and color our views and decisions. Joe demonstrated that personal is political. Women do not have the market cornered when it comes to caring about the future of our children.

Hopefully, Biden was able to tap into a seldom used pool of political energy. His tears of paternal love made me proud to be a concerned father, and I hope others heed his example.