John McCain came to Las Cruces yesterday for a town hall meeting. There were only 500 tickets available, but I didn’t even try to get one. It would have been nice to see him in person and hear what he had to say, but I don’t think Echo could handle an event like that. He has a very short attention span! We heard on the radio that the Democratic Party was organizing a protest across the street:

Las Cruces, NM- The Democratic Party of New Mexico will join County Commissioner Bill McCamley, City Councillor Nathan P. Small and DNC Committeewoman Mary Gail Gwaltney to protest Bush-McCain economic policies that promise more of the same.

“Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike are looking for change this election year,” said Josh Geise, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. “Maybe while he’s here, John McCain can explain why his only plan for New Mexicans is to give them more of the same Bush Administration policies that have resulted in job losses, record foreclosure rates and sky high gas prices.” [link]

I thought that this might be a good opportunity to introduce Echo to the idea of a presidential election. Butterfly was his age during the last presidential election, so I wasn’t expecting him to grasp the concept. Four year old minds are literal but at the same time very imaginitive! I explained a little bit about the two candidates.

“But what if they are both idiots?”

blink, blink

“What did I say? Idiots? I meant INDIANS. What if they are both Indians and they get their bow and arrows and shoot the president so that they can be the new president?”

“First of all, neither one is a Native American. Second, there is no shooting of arrows in elections. People vote and that’s how they choose.”

“Oh. But if one WAS an Indian and DID have a bow and arrow…. that would be awesome!”

I don’t consider myself a politically active person, but I do try to involve the kids when possible. They vote with me. I took the girls to hear President Bush speak [the number one reason I am no longer Republican]. I thought that taking Echo to the protest would be a good way for him to be involved in the process.

I figured he would last five minutes, just long enough for me to take a few pictures. But this kid never ceases to amaze me. The first thing he did when we walked to the corner was demand his sign. He held up that sign, occasionally asking me to hold him up higher. After almost an hour, I told him it was time to go. He was hot and sweaty and I could tell he was tired. As I carried him away, he cried. “I was having the best day ever and YOU ruined it. It’s all your fault! This was THE BEST PROTEST EVER!”

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