The Elephant and the Ass

Alrighty, just like I said, now I'm going to examine the origins of the Republicans' elephant and the Democrats' donkey. Unlike the colors of red and blue, these mascots go way back into history. What I find particularly interesting is the fact that neither the elephant, nor the donkey, is particularly heroic or even attractive.

It's actually quite a bit simpler. The donkey originated in Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign.

After this cartoon, the donkey was pretty much synonymous with the democrats. Even now, the embrace it, saying that it is smart and brave.

The Republican Elephant is only slightly more complicated, and it actually comes from the Donkey. In Harper's weekly in 1874, they feature the below cartoon, where the elephant, labeled "The Republican Vote" is running away from the donkey clothed in Lion's skin.

It, also, was embraced, and the Republicans now say that it is strong and dignified.

We hardly even notice these symbols any more, they are simply an image, without any meaning of their own. The fact that the democratic symbol is a donkey really has no effect on how the party is viewed at all, which is probably good for them. The words 'stubborn' and 'ass' are not positive, especially in politics.