Consider the presidential election through the eyes of my hyper-competitive 5-year old...
He kind of sees this as a contest on the grand scale of the World Series...perhaps with good reason.
"OK," he asks me, "it's McCain versus -- he loves the word "versus" as a verb -- Obama, who are you rooting for?"
As if I am wearing red or blue -- team colors or such. I tell him my choice, which suffices him.
Then I make the mistake of trying to explain the concept of vice-presidential candidates -- that they are "friends" of the primary candidates. I figure this has gone over his head faster than Air Force One and he floors me with his level of political astuteness -- never underestimate the power of a 5-year old who pays attention to the news I catch on an occasional basis.
"Is Hillary Clinton still Barack's friend?"
I try to explain that yes, Hillary is still (kind of) Barack's friend, but somehow she didn't make the cut to be his "best friend." The one he'd share his peanut butter and jelly sandwich with. But somehow this is a concept bigger than sharing swings on the playground. How to explain?
"Well, yes, she is still his friend," I said. "She's out there telling people to root for Barack. She could even be part of his administration -- maybe -- if he wins."
Dylan: "What is an administration?"
Imagine Homer Simpson: DOOH! What am I doing expecting a 5-year old to know this five-syllable word?
Dylan: "If Barack wins, what will Sarah Palin think?'
This ranks in "Unsure how to answer."
Suddenly I see where this is leading. Dylan's follow-up questions show even though he is super-competitive, he has inherited my sympathetic side -- the part of me who wants to invent a bridge that somehow connects people, allows them to get along.
"If Barack wins, will John McCain like him, or if John McCain wins, what will Barack think about him?'
Oh dear. I opt to skip explanation about '04 Supreme Court decisions and our litigious society such as it is... and say, well, I hope whoever wins, when it's all over, everyone can somehow tend to shake hands and say it's been a good, hard-fought race between two qualified candidates. We wish the other person well and as a country we hope for the best.
Lofty expectations for adults, let alone a 5-year old, who in some ways, with his wide-eyed innocence, might better accept it than cynical voters.