Election Day

(by Andy)

Our kids got pretty into the election process. During the conventions they got out flags and were waving them around, chanting slogans, etc. Warren must've talked about the election at school recently because he was telling people about it on Monday. My sister posted about one experience.

Anyway, last night three-year-old Abigail asked me who I voted for, for President. When I told her I voted for Ron Paul (I wrote him in), she laughed at me, "Oh, he's totally not going to win."

Later five-year-old Warren asked me, "Dad, did you know you're really not going to win?" "What do you mean Warren, I'm not running for anything," I teased. "No dad, your vote. Your vote is not going to win." "I didn't vote in order to win," I told him.

Apparently he felt like he didn't get through to me, so he tried again at breakfast today, "Dad, that was a really stupid thing you did, to vote for Ron Paul." "Really, Warren, why was that a stupid thing?" "Because he didn't win." "But Warren, John McCain didn't win either. Did everyone who voted for John McCain do a stupid thing?" "No, dad." "Why not?"

He didn't really have an answer for that, besides that "the people who voted for not John McCain or Barack Obama did a stupid thing".

I can't blame him for absorbing the conventional wisdom of the country, but I am really wondering what specific experiences led him to feel so strongly about this.

Here's a funny Norah Jones song about election day that Bekah found through Pandora, My Dear Country.