microphone, âhomework will go the way of the horse and buggy.â
Fists were pumping in the air.
âHomework will become a quaint reminder of what life was like back in our parentsâ childhoods!â
Kids were jumping up and down on their seats.
âIn our childhood, the only place youâll see homework will be in museums!â
It was pandemonium. I paused to allow them to calm down a little. I didnât want to incite a riot or anything.
I noticed a boy standing in the middle of the auditorium, raising his hand and shouting insistently, âExcuse me!â Peering at him, I could see it was that jerk Arthur Krantz.
âYes, Mr. Krantz,â I called out. âYou have a comment?â
âFirst of all, the president of the United States has no power to abolish homework. None. Zero. Second, we need homework. Doing homework is how students reinforce what we learn at school! Homework is a good thing.â
I glanced over to Lane at the side of the stage for some advice. He was mouthing some words to me, but I couldnât make them out. I was never any good at reading lips. But watching him gave me an idea.
âREAD MY LIPS, BOOGER BOY!â I bellowed. âNO ⦠MORE ⦠HOMEWORK!â
âNO MORE HOMEWORK! NO MORE HOMEWORK! NO MORE HOMEWORK!â chanted the school as one. The kids around Krantz told him to shut up and sit down.
âYouâre just making empty promises to get votes!â Krantz shouted at me. âYour candidacy is a joke! Your running mate is a grown-up, you hypocrite! You donât know anything about anything . Youâre going to make all kids look bad!â
A group of boys jumped on Krantz and started punching him. Some teachers rushed over to pull the boys off him. Krantz was taken out of the auditorium holding his hand over his eye.
I glanced at my speech and saw I was almost at the bottom.
âFellow students, our grandparents had their chance to save America. They blew it! Our parents had their chance to save America. They blew it! Now itâs a new millennium and our generation is going to get our chance. Letâs not blow it! The time has come to pass the torch to a new generation. Ask not what your parents can do for you. Ask what you can do for yourselves! Kids are the only hope for America. Thank you.â
âNO MORE HOMEWORK!â the kids chanted as I left the podium. âNO MORE HOMEWORK!â
As I came off the stage, Principal Berlin looked at me like I was an insect. The teachers looked like they were in shock.
The kids, of course, looked thrilled. The dumbest guys seemed particularly happy, fist bumping me and saying stuff like, âAwesome, dude.â
âLooks as if youâve got the kidsâ vote,â Lane said, giving me a hug.
âDonât you think that went a little too far, Lane?â I asked. âKrantz was right, you know. I canât promise to get rid of homework! Thatâs crazy!â
âItâs the first rule of politics, Judd. Give the people what they want.â
Â
Lane led me over to a guy waiting backstage. âJudson,â he said, âI want to introduce you to Ben Davis. Heâs with the AP.â
âPleased to meet you,â I said as I shook the guyâs hand. âMy mom does her grocery shopping at your store.â
âNot the A&P, Judd,â Lane said, chuckling. âThe A-P. Associated Press.â
âWhich paper is that?â I asked.
âAll of them,â Davis replied. âWhen I write a story, the AP puts it in hundreds of newspapers. Sometimes thousands. And we blast it out to every news web site on the net.â
âWow!â I marveled. âAnd they havenât been caught?â
He thought that was funny.
âNot every newspaper and web site creates their own content,â Davis said. âThey pay a guy like me to write something once, and then they run it every where. Thatâs