Miss school for a political rally? It’s legit if Obama signs your excuse note

A school in Durham County will be presented with a unusual sort of presidential pardon on Thursday morning.

N.C. Rep. Graig Meyer, a Democrat who represents Orange and Durham counties, let his two kids skip class at their elementary school to attend President Barack Obama’s speech at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Meyer’s son, William, got Obama to sign a handwritten note that said “please excuse William Meyer from school. He was with me.”

Wednesday’s rally in support of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign drew 16,000 people, so Meyer’s kids probably weren’t the only ones in attendance who would otherwise have been in school.

It’s not the first time Obama has signed a child’s school excuse note. He offered up his signature in 2012 for an 11-year-old in Minnesota attending his speeches.

Since it can hard to get the president’s attention, it helps to have connections: The Minnesota boy’s father had introduced Obama, and Democratic elected officials like Meyer typically get prime spots at campaign events.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Miss school for a political rally? It’s legit if Obama signs your excuse note."