I’m not gonna jump on the bandwagon and write a long diatribe about the future of our country here (maybe a quick one, but not long). ;) After all, the blogosphere is currently saturated with such posts and no one seems to be saying anything unique.
Instead, I thought I’d share with you the thoughts of a 3 and 4 year old on the matter. Lindsay brought home a little booklet from preschool, all about the election process, with pictures of the two major candidates, circled in their parties’ colors. I tried to explain to her that Barack Obama belongs to the Democratic Party and that John McCain belongs to the Republican Party, hence the blue and red, and that this generally means they follow a set of beliefs and values that the rest of the people in their party adhere to. I told her neither one was necessarily right, but that it was our job to choose which man (and maybe someday, woman) we thought would do the best job for the country as a whole at the given time. She then asked me which party I belonged to, and I told her that for the most part, I usually vote Republican, but that I’m free to vote for whomever I want in the Presidential Election, even if they’re not in my party, and that I’m also allowed to vote however I want on all of the ballot measures, where we all decide which “rules” will have to be followed. I told her this was the first time I was voting a primarily Democratic ticket, and also voting for Barack Obama, because, well… I can’t really sum it up easily. Part of me really wants to see a change in this country, and I’m sort of morbidly curious as to whether or not the Democratic party can make the positive difference in our nation that they think they can. I certainly hope so, so fingers crossed.
I still have great respect for John McCain though, especially with how he handled the race in the end, and am pretty disappointed in his supporters for their behavior at his concession speech. It makes me hopeful though that if someone like me, who has always been a pretty hardcore Republican, can start to listen to those around her and concede that the world may not be as cut and dry as I once believe, that there is hope for those people as well, and that they will open their minds and unite with the rest of the country toward a positive change.
Anyway, back to my story… So Lindsay asked me early in the day which candidate I had voted for and I told her about Obama. I also told her it would be very historic if he won because it would be the first time in the history of our country that a black person had been president. I also told her people have a lot of hope in him and think he can make some great changes in the way the world sees us. She then spent the rest of the day marching around saying, “Barack O-BA-MA! Barack O-BA-MA!” and asking me every half hour if he was going to win.
At dinnertime, she then decided we should pass around her little election booklet and point to which candidate we wanted to win and say why. I started, telling her again that I voted for Obama and why. She then said she was voting for Obama because it would be historic and he’s nice. Barney refused to comment…because, well, he’s Barney; way to pass up an educational moment. ;) Emery “voted” for Obama because he said the “other guy” looked mean and Obama looked nice.
Lindsay then announced she wanted to be black. Not joking. 
Lindsay: I want to be black!
Me: Why?
Lindsay: I want to be a President!
Me: You can’t be black sweetie, and you don’t have to be black to be a president. In fact, if Obama is elected, he’ll be the ONLY black  President we’ve had. But you could be the first woman to be President!
Lindsay: I want to be the first black woman president!
Barney and I just laughed and shook our heads…
Needless to say, Lindsay was a little excited this morning when I told her Obama was going to be our new President. I only hope he’s prepared for one hell of a hard four years, and I hope he and his family remain safe and happy throughout. And I truly hope he can help move our country forward in a better direction.
