Mom, won’t you vote for Barack?

It’s been fascinating in the exit polls from the 2008 presidential primaries observing the age gradient for Obama supporters. Children of Boomers support Obama significantly more than their parents and the Boomers in turn are more likely to support Obama than their parents.

Now the Obama campaign is putting this to good use.

The New York Times reported on children persuading their parental Superdelegates to vote for Obama. (See: “Young Obama Backers Twist Parents’ Arms” 4/18/08)

Now comes a wonderful grassroots-developed video of kids pleading for their parents to support Obama.

Children have persuaded us to give up smoking, and recycle. Why shouldn’t their hope inspire us now to vote?

Putnam Op-Ed on superdelegates and youth civic engagement

A persuasive Op-Ed by my colleague Robert D. Putnam appeared in Sunday’s Boston Globe entitled, “The Rebirth of American Civic Life.”

Putnam highlights the amazing political birth of a “9-11 Generation” since September 11th, reversing a 35 year decline in political engagement of young adults. He sees this pent-up interest in politics as dry kindling that Barack Obama ignited through the content of his message, his age, and his extraordinary ability to connect. Youth turnout has soared in primaries across the country (as I’ve chronicled earlier) and youth activists are at the heart of his organizers.

Putnam notes that the democrat superdelegates, if they overturn the will of the democratic majority and vote for Hillary Clinton, threaten to squelch this incipient youth political movement and teach them that politics are for suckers, since the meaningful results are all negotiated in back rooms. This would not only cost the democratic party in the long-term, but could extinguish one of the most encouraging civic developments of the past several decades.

You can read the full article here.