BLUE vs. RED: WHICH PARTY DELIVERS THE GOODS?

“Grandpa, why do you like the Democrats?”

The young lady asking the question was my ten-year-old granddaughter, Nicole, and the year was 2008. We were heading into the first election that had any meaning for her, and she knew that I had recently attended my precinct caucus and cast my vote for Barak Obama as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

I thought for a moment … this was a serious question and I wanted to give her a serious response. After a few moments, I flipped open a pad of paper on my desk, “Alright, Nikki, let’s do an exercise.”

She looked puzzled. “What kind of exercise?”

“Well,” I replied, “Let’s describe the kind of society that we want to live in.”

She resisted the impulse to roll her eyes; Grandpa was off on a tear and it was best to play along. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Reminded by her presence that I was a grandparent (where did all those years go?) I said, “Personally, I would like to have a society where people live a long time.”

She nodded before adding, “And I would like to be in a society where every kid gets to go to a good school.”