Campaign ’08 not just for adults — kids love it

Exit polls have shown that Obama, at 46 the youngest candidate in the race, performs particularly well with voters under 44, while Clinton performs better with older ones. And it's no secret that Obama has drawn rapturous crowds at colleges and universities. Though the pre-voting set doesn't get polled, the campaign seems to know kids like the candidate: There's even a link for them on its Web site.

"Do you feel like you want to get involved in the political process but you don't know how? Get involved in KIDS FOR OBAMA!" the site read. It suggests a "starter kit" of things they'll need to set up an Obama party, including paper and markers for signs, a computer to create a "MyBO" page, and red-white-and-blue balloons and candy. There's also a video of a kickoff "Kids for Obama" party in Illinois.

"It's smart for candidates to be kid friendly," noted Marty Kaplan, a former Democratic speechwriter and now a professor at USC's Annenberg School of Communications. "Arguably the environmental movement took off because kids convinced their parents to recycle."

Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki noted wryly that it could be the ages of her candidate's daughters, 6 and 9, that "may attract more support from the under-10 crowd than his middle-class tax plan." But, she added in an e-mail to The AP, "kids can sense authenticity, and he is the candidate most committed to changing their futures for the better." Spokesmen for the Clinton and McCain campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

For Carolyn Solomon, the foster mother of twins Davita and Davin, one of the most exciting things about this presidential race is that "it's triggering something" in youngsters. "They are so hyped up and excited about this election," said Solomon, who also runs a daycare center, where she hears kids talk about the campaign.

And though the 6-year-olds spent the drive to the polling station on Super Tuesday chanting, "Barack, Barack," Solomon, 52, said her extended household is good-naturedly split "right down the middle" between the Democratic candidates.

"We all have our reasons," Solomon said. "It's what we feel in our heart." And no matter who becomes the nominee — the first black man, or the first woman — "it's all good," she said. "I want these boys and girls to learn that they can grow up and do something like this."

Picking the president: The candidates Click to visit that candidate's MSNBC page or click the XML symbol for an RSS feed. John McCain                Barack Obama

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