Did you ever wonder how Red became the color for the Right and Blue for the Left? Doesn't this seem to defy common sense? Traditionally speaking, Red has always meant left and Blue right. Well, the whole Red/Blue State thing is a recent invention and it only started to appear during the 2000 election. Up until that point, the media used all sorts of colors (not just blue and red) to represent the candidates in elections and it varied by network. Among other races, in 1980 and 1984, NBC used Blue for Reagan and Red for the Democratic candidates. NBC News Anchor David Brinkley said during the 1980 election, "It's beginning to look like a suburban swimming pool" as Reagan won state after state and the map got bluer and bluer. Time referred to the election map that year as "Lake Reagan." This shirt shows the 2008 election map as it should look with Blue being restored to its rightful place and the Obama states Communist Red.