Speaking of democracy...

...maybe a small town in Vermont has finally gotten it right by electing a goat, Ms. Lincoln, as mayor. According to this news story,

That idea to elect an animal as mayor came from the town manager. He thought it would be a fun way to raise money for the school to build a new playground and get kids to start thinking about local politics.

On voting day, the kids took to the polls with their parents and had their very own ballot with 16 candidates ranging from cats and dogs to a goat! Lincoln won by three votes...

"We were really pleased to see it was a civics lesson for the students and that they could be involved and decisions made in the town and it something that we hope to continue in the future getting the kids voting with their parents on a regular basis," said Christopher Stapleton, Lincoln's owner.

The election was also intended to be a fundraiser, but only $100 was raised instead of the $70,000 hoped for.

I could have told them that goats were a money pit. On the other hand, the last few years have shown that could could do a lot worse when it comes to elected officials.