A Child's View of the 1st Presidential Debate

I let my kids stay up to watch the Presidential debate with me tonight, because the 12-year-old had to take notes for her social studies homework, and it didn't seem fair to make the others go to bed in the middle of it if I was letting her stay up past bedtime.

Let's just say that a Presidential debate is a much different event when viewed through the eyes of a child. Forget about those boring Medicare and Social Security questions. Here is what I learned about our choices in this election (with the help of my children, ages 8, 10, 12 & 14):

Mitt Romney:
    * Likes Big Bird, but he wants to get rid of PBS anyway. ("What if he tries to cancel the Disney Channel next???")
    * Wants to help the "poor kids" get an education
    * Didn't do his homework, because he kept talking about changing things to be just the way they already are.


President Obama:
   * Really wants Obamacare
   * Thinks Romney is wrong
   * Likes to point out that Romney is wrong by twisting Romney's words around
   * Was really hard to understand


Both candidates:
   * Don't know how to follow the rules of a debate
   * Are hypocrites - they kept getting upset at each other for interrupting, even though they were both interrupting each other all the time.


The official Bartles kids' poll coming out of this debate:
  * 8-year-old would vote for Obama, "because I'm used to him."
  * 10-year-old would vote for Obama "because I like PBS"
  * 12-year-old would kick them both out because they don't know how to follow rules
   * 14-year-old is still undecided