Presidential Politics
Fiona's very aware that a presidential election is going on. She likes to point to pictures of Barack Obama and John McCain in the newspaper. But getting her head around what's really going on is a bit beyond a four year-old (sorry, four-and-a-half).
Recently she saw an Obama bumper sticker lying around the house (no, it's not on the car) and asked what it said. When I told her, she asked if I was voting for Barack Obama. I said I was.
Fiona likes to think that her parents always believe the exact opposite of one another (I guess part of her inclination toward drama includes a taste for conflict). So she announced "Mommy's voting for John McCain."
Andrea happened to be walking past at this exact moment and stopped in her tracks with a shocked "what?!?!"
It probably came out a little more forcefully than intended, since it startled Fiona. I explained to her that almost everybody in her family was voting for Obama. She started asking about each member of the family, including pets. She decided that Tia and Tio's dog Buddy was voting for McCain, although the other dogs in the family are all voting Obama.
A little later, it occurred to Fiona to ask why we were voting for Obama. Now, this presented me with something of a conundrum. I mean, how do you even say something as simple as "I like his economic policies better" to a child who literally (not Joe Biden literally, but literally literally) doesn't have a concept of money beyond stuff that goes in her piggy bank or gets given to people at the cash register (when we played "toy store" last weekend she charged me $5 for a doll and $200 million for a book).
So I decided to go with health care. "Barack Obama wants to make it easier for everybody to see a doctor if they get sick."
Fiona understood that, and it sounded like a good idea to her. But then she thought about what that implied:
"John McCain doesn't want you to see the doctor?" she asked.
Well...
"He must not like going to the doctor. I like going to the doctor. I'm very brave."
There you have it: health care policy for the preschool set.
Recently she saw an Obama bumper sticker lying around the house (no, it's not on the car) and asked what it said. When I told her, she asked if I was voting for Barack Obama. I said I was.
Fiona likes to think that her parents always believe the exact opposite of one another (I guess part of her inclination toward drama includes a taste for conflict). So she announced "Mommy's voting for John McCain."
Andrea happened to be walking past at this exact moment and stopped in her tracks with a shocked "what?!?!"
It probably came out a little more forcefully than intended, since it startled Fiona. I explained to her that almost everybody in her family was voting for Obama. She started asking about each member of the family, including pets. She decided that Tia and Tio's dog Buddy was voting for McCain, although the other dogs in the family are all voting Obama.
A little later, it occurred to Fiona to ask why we were voting for Obama. Now, this presented me with something of a conundrum. I mean, how do you even say something as simple as "I like his economic policies better" to a child who literally (not Joe Biden literally, but literally literally) doesn't have a concept of money beyond stuff that goes in her piggy bank or gets given to people at the cash register (when we played "toy store" last weekend she charged me $5 for a doll and $200 million for a book).
So I decided to go with health care. "Barack Obama wants to make it easier for everybody to see a doctor if they get sick."
Fiona understood that, and it sounded like a good idea to her. But then she thought about what that implied:
"John McCain doesn't want you to see the doctor?" she asked.
Well...
"He must not like going to the doctor. I like going to the doctor. I'm very brave."
There you have it: health care policy for the preschool set.
posted by BWC at
10:24 PM
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