A Marine, home on leave, was enjoying a trip to the zoo. All at once in the lion house, he heard screams. A little girl had wandered too close to a lion's cage, and the lion had reached out with his paw, pulling the girl toward him.
The Marine did not hesitate for a instant. He rushed over to the cage and punched the big cat hard in the nose. The startled animal let go of the little girl and retreated to the back of its cage, whimpering. The little girl was unhurt and everyone cheered.
Just then a reporter from the New York Times approached the Marine and said, "That was marvelous! I want to write a story about you for tomorrow's edition of the Times. Tell me, what is your occupation?"
"I'm a Marine."
"Oh," said the reporter, "Well, I bet with your unselfish willingness to help people, you must be a liberal Democrat. Am I right?"
"No," said the Marine, "I'm a conservative Republican."
"Oh," said the reporter. "Well, I think I have enough information for my story. You can read it tomorrow."
True to the reporter's word, a story appeared the next day in the Times, headed:
American Marine assaults African immigrant; Steals immigrant's lunch"