As the presidential primaries march on from Super Tuesday, the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant will continue to leave foot- and hoofprints from sea to shining sea. Which for some reason got me wondering: Why donkeys and elephants?
Thanks to Google, it was easy to find out. It started with Andrew Jackson’s 1828 presidential campaign. After his Republican opponents called him a jackass, he took the insult and appropriated it for his own campaign posters. Cartoonist Thomas Nast took the symbol and ran with it in his cartoons, later labeling an elephant as “The Republican Vote” in a cartoon where a donkey wearing lion’s skin was terrorizing zoo animals. And so they clumped and clodded into history.
But now we reach another historic landmark—the dawning of the era of the rise of the meeting professional. All we’re missing is a mascot that truly represents the qualities that meetings pros bring to the table, whether we’re talking national political party conventions or the next board meeting.
So, my fellow Americans, meeting planners, and those who love them, what should your mascot be? E-mail your nominations, and the reasons why they deserve our votes, to [email protected], or drop a comment below.
If we get some good and/or funny ones, I’ll set up a poll (a straw one, of course) for the candidates. May the best beast win!