A Political Quip, in Front of the Kids

Discussion Policy
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Reliable Source
Copyright 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008; 7:11 PM

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. How old is old enough for political banter? At a Politics and Prose bookstore chat for his new kids' book on Monday, Robert Kennedy Jr. got a little partisan with some grade-schoolers. Discussing the Civil War -- his book is about slave-turned-war-hero Robert Smalls -- the lawyer-activist asked the assembled kids if they knew Lincoln's party. Republican, they answered. "You're right," he said. "That's when the Republicans used to be the good guys." The joke annoyed Susan Sylvester, the chaperoning mom of a Murch Elementary fourth-grader who considers herself an independent. "I'm tired of people making these blanket generalizations," and hurting the feelings of those from GOP families, she said. "How do you know how a child processes that?" (Otherwise, she liked his talk -- and bought the book.) Kennedy told us he had no qualms about the quip "since those children struck me as



More Washington Post Opinions

PostPartisan

Post Partisan

Quick takes from The Post's opinion writers.

Washington Sketch

Washington Sketch

Dana Milbank writes about political theater in the capital.

Tom Toles

Tom Toles

See his latest editorial cartoon.

© 2008 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive