Robert's take on Barack Obama

One never really knows what a little kid absorbs of the adults' world going on around them. So much of it is over their heads, not just figuratively but literally. But Robert was really into the whole election process, especially last night.

There was a map around the house with the number of electoral votes for each state, which was a great teaching tool both for math and geography. When I asked this 6-year-old if he would rather win Texas or Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, he did the math without a problem.

He was distraught when South Carolina was called for John McCain early in the night and Vermont for Barack Obama, putting Obama in an 8-3 hole in the electoral college count. Later things started looking brighter, and when he was in bed he asked Cate to check, saying, "I bet he's at a hundred now!"

Indeed, Obama had 102 electoral votes by CNN's count.

Cate asked Robert what he thought would happen if Obama was elected, and the first thing out of his mouth was, "the war would end." He also thought Obama would take better care of poor people and sick people.

Here's hoping.

In Obama nation

Musings of Elizabeth while watching the World Series:

"If Obama loses, can we move to Holland? It sounds appealing!

"Can we move to Europe?

"Can we move to Canada?"

Hey, she said it. I didn't!

Of course, Elizabeth is accustomed to election uncertainty. In 2000, when the networks originally called Florida for Al Gore, we told her that he was going to be the next president. At not quite age 3, she was already disillusioned.

Happy Birthday, Cate!

We were all disappointed when the text message from Barack Obama came in at 2:30 this morning informing us that Cate had not been selected as his running mate for the 2008 election.

This is unfortunate, because I feel Cate could help carry several important constituencies.

• Women
• Catholic women
• Virginia

I was just sure the timing of Obama's announcement and rally on Saturday could not be a coincidence. After all, not only was it Cate's birthday, but it was Cate's 35th birthday, which for those who remember high school civics class, means Cate is now eligible to be elected president.

Plus Cate was curiously non-committal as to what she wanted to do today. I'm sure she wanted to be in Springfield, Ill.

Instead, we celebrated Cate's first birthday in Minneapolis in a not-particularly Minnesota fashion. We didn't go to the lake or to the State Fair, which seems destined to be a future birthday destination since it will frequently be running on Aug. 23. Cate and the kids walked down to the shops in Linden Hills, where the kids did some advance scouting for a later birthday run, and we had the great wood-fired pizza at Punch Pizza. At right is dessert, which I term a good cake spoiled. The kids ... well, they had their own ideas as to what the cake should be ... encrusted with. I'm not interested in leftovers, let's just say that. Cate got to get some downtime and talked with her mom on the phone from Ireland. In all it was a beautiful day as summer in the Upper Midwest winds down.

And no, if you're wondering from the top photo, Elizabeth is not that tall, yet. She's standing on a rock. But she is approaching five feet tall, my goodness. She is that cute, though. And so is Colleen.