My daughter is as thrilled to wake to a world of Barack Obama even though her friends' parents tell them that "Obama is a baby-killing Muslim and will likely be killed because he's black."

"Abraham Lincoln was killed, John Kennedy was killed, someone tried to kill Ronald Reagan and they were all white men," I told her. "Every President is at risk."

"But, what if that happens?"

"Then Joe Biden is a qualified good man who will be our President."

"What color is he?"

"White."

"You know Barack Obama is half white and half black. He will help us heal our country's racism," I continued.

"He's half white?"

"Yes, he has a white mommy and a black daddy, like our friend Neeny."

"You know, Obama also has two little girls around your age - Mallia and Sasha. We'll get to watch them grow up in The White House."

Today, though my daughter does not see a woman take the highest office in the land as I had hoped, she does get to witness a healing in the nation.

A nation that wants to be in hope and optimism because the oppression of fear was bad for the entire planet's emotional health.

Smell that? It's a hopeful future.

I almost forgot what it tasted like.

We've got nothing to complain about and everything be joyful over. It will take hard work and some money to dig ourselves out and recover - but Yes, We Can.

We are now a country where the words, All Men are Created Equal, are no longer hallow.

We are liberated from our tainted and embarrassing racial history.

I'm looking every day for ways to liberate us from our gender inequity as well - for our daughters' sakes - and for our own.

God Bless AMERICA!

What are you doing here?

GO VOTE!

Vote With Your Daughter!

Our kids will be up all night with us at the Democratic Headquarters Party. We'll be munching Pizza, drinking champagne and watching election results.

Thanks to Claire Mysko, author of You're Amazing: A No-Pressure Guide to Being Your Best Self, for pointing out the Take Our Daughters to the Polls initiative from The White House Project.

My husband and I took out daughter out of school one day last week and went to the court house to cast our votes. I'm an election judge this year so we voted early. (Early voting will also reduce complaining about the line.)

They will allow your child in the voting booth with you and you can show them how you go about choosing your candidates.

Ainsley and I have been going to vote together since she was two and we arrived at the government building and she said, "Where's the boats? You said we were going boating."

She'll remember this year specifically because this year, we got to vote for Hillary Clinton. I also voted for her BFF's mom, who was running for county attorney on my ballot (even though she wasn't on my party's ticket).

No matter who you're voting for - take your daughter to the polls and show her one of the more effective ways for women to be powerful.

Democracy is what we make it through our participation. Teach her to participate.

I'm an election judge today - getting my Patriotic High - read more about it on Blog Fabulous.

I feel privileged to have taken the opportunity to vote for the first woman and the first mother to run for President of the United States. May I see many more opportunities in my lifetime and may my daughter take for granted the possibility that a woman will win!

by Tracee Sioux

Maybe you're one of the people who disagree with me politically. Maybe you like the current health care system, don't have a problem with current employment policy, would love to see Row V. Wade overturned. In other words, maybe you're a Republican.

Okay, I can respect that. Almost everyone I know and love is a Republican. I grew up Mormon and married a Texan. Very Republican both.

As an advocate for girls let me make the following plea on behalf of your daughter:

Please, please, please speak respectfully of the one and only female candidate ever for President of the United States - Hillary Clinton.

What you say about Hillary Clinton has the potential to translate to your daughters as your opinion of all women (including your daughter) seeking power.

I vividly remember asking my parents what the Equal Rights Amendment was as a child. I remember them telling me that it was a bill to make women equal to men. And they were voting against it.

Here's how that translated to a six-year-old girl: My parents are voting against ME! Why would they do that?

What you might say instead of I Hate Hillary Clinton! might be, I think a woman would make a wonderful President, I just don't agree with this particular woman's political views on health insurance.

It would be helpful, for your daughter, to avoid vague negative statements about Hillary's suitability as a role model for girls. Instead you could say, I think it's wonderful that a female has gotten this far in American politics. It's wonderful that women are becoming more powerful and ambitious. I just don't agree with her views on abortion or the economy.

If you minimize and criticize the significance of Hillary's presence in this race you minimize and criticize your daughter's potential.

It's Super Tuesday: Take your daughter to vote with you and show her what being empowered in a democracy means.

I hope you shared this moment, when the first woman ever won a United States Presidential Primary, with your daughters last night.

Regardless of your political leanings, I sincerely hope that the significance of Hillary Clinton's participation in the democratic process is not going unnoticed.

I also hope you watch what you say about her femininity in front of your girls, whether you agree or disagree with her politics.

For parents of girls this is no time to be laissez fair about the first female presidential candidate of the most powerful national on earth.

When so much of the media exposure portrays women as sex objects or a joke, and the national feminine chatter is about the battle to be beautiful or catch a man, it is vital that girls see a woman on the national political scene being taken seriously.

I think the psychological impact of having a female Commander in Chief would have on our daughters is as relevant to the race as anything else. As a woman, I need to see it and my daughter needs to see if even more.

When we were growing up, women in the media were primarily portrayed as housewives, because sex was highly censored. With the increased sexualization of women in the media, it's even more of a struggle for girls to grow up strong and confident.

Last night when Hillary was in the lead in New Hampshire, Ainsley and I shared a high five that made me a choke up. For her, maybe anything really can be possible. As a mother, that's the reality I want for her.

Certainly, witnessing a woman being taken seriously about real issues will make girls feel more legitimate, valid, and ambitious.

Don't miss this opportunity, call your daughter over to the computer and watch the acceptance speech right now.

The Iowa Caucus is only days away.

Get your custom-designed Hillary 2008 Bumper Stickers now for only $5. Email me at traceesioux@yahoo.com to place your order. (More designs in the left side bar.)