Democrat or Republican?

When I was in elementary school, I distinctly remember the presidential election between George Bush the Senior and Bill Clinton since our school had all sorts of random election activities to condition young minds to care about politics from an early age or somesuch. So I went home to find out whom I should vote for in the pretend elementary school election.

"Mommy, Daddy, are you Democrats or Republicans?" I asked in Chinese since my Chinese was much better back then.

"Republican."

"Why?"

"Because," my dad answered unhelpfully.

"But what's the difference?" I insisted.

"Well, Republicans give a dollar to the government when it asks them to," my mom answered, as if it were obvious.

"So...Republicans give a dollar and Democrats won't?" I attempted to clarify.

"Uh-huh, yeah, that's it."

I decided that Democrats were greedy people who wouldn't even give a dollar to the government. Therefore, I wanted the Republicans to win! Yay! Of course, that Bush didn't win in the end.

This year, before Election Day, I noticed my mom had received a voting guide from the Democratic Party. Thinking my mom was still Republican all this time, I asked, "Hey, Mommy, weren't you Republican?"

"Well, when your dad and I were filling out tax returns when Reagan was president, there was a box that asked if we wanted to donate a dollar to his party. Your dad said to just check it, so they registered us as Republican."

*Click* OOOOH. The things people don't understand when they're in the fifth grade. Or...maybe that's just me and slightly fobby parents.

And this time I didn't want Bush to win, but he did. Maybe I'm a jinx. =P