Blue vs. Red

I have often been confused by politics -- and one of my biggest concerns has to do with the color coding.  Why is an elephant more red than a donkey?  I would think that blue, being closer to gray, would be the elephant color.  After all, there are "red" donkeys -- that rusty color that people call red, anyway.  Now, isn't my way making more sense?  But, alas, no one consulted me when they were choosing colors, and now it's too late -- can you imagine the newscasters trying to remember which was which when they've been reporting on red states and blue states?  It sure would make it easier for me to remember if Repubs were blue -- Utah just looks wrong when they call it a red state.  Go Cougs!