Ours is a divided household. My husband and I are not members of the same party and every election is a more than a little interesting. Adding a very aware 5-year-old made things even more fun this year. When asked who he would vote for, my son said, "President Obama."
Truly curious because we've been quite careful not to sway him, I asked, "Why?"
He said, "Because he's President!" I think if my son had been a few years older that would have been followed by a 'duh'.
We watched the election returns with him, but he went to bed before President Obama was re-elected. He loved seeing the states flash on the screen and watch the map of the country turn red and blue. He didn't understand that those colors mean that we have a deeply divided nation, and that the division means that things aren't working, unlike in our household.
Both my husband and I were impressed with the speeches. My favorite part of Governor Romney's speech was when he said, "The nation, as you know, is at a critical point...Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work. And we citizens also have to rise to the occasion."
I was reminded of my son, and his perception of the electoral map when later in the evening, President Obama said, "We remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America."
