THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE II – AT 8:15 A.M. ET:  In 1968 some pundits called Eugene McCarthy's campaign to unseat President Lyndon Johnson "the children's crusade" because there were so many young people involved. 

It was in some respects a children's crusade, with an intellectual and emotional maturity level to match.  It was noticed in a place named North Vietnam, whose armies we were fighting.  The North Vietnamese realized they could use this political movement to their advantage, and they did. 

We seem to have a new children's crusade, surrounding the presidency of Barack Obama.  Obama addressed some of the young 'uns yesterday, with an intellectual level worthy of the 1960s.  From Fox:

SAN FRANCISCO -- Easing into his 2012 campaign, President Obama is telling his supporters he understands their frustration over the compromises he's made with Republicans, while preparing them for more to come.

It's a timely warning given the upcoming vote on raising the debt ceiling and the ongoing debate over long-term deficit reduction, both issues Obama says can only be solved if Republicans and Democrats work together. But further compromises could prove a tough pill to swallow for many of Obama's liberal backers, who have grown tired of watching the president cede ground to the GOP on spending cuts and tax breaks for the wealthy.

During a raucous fundraiser focused on young people in San Francisco Wednesday night, Obama said his supporters are not alone in their frustration.

"There are times when I've felt the same way you do. It's a big, complicated, messy democracy," he said. "We knew this wouldn't be easy."

Obama's three-day West Coast swing -- his most extensive travel since announcing his re-election bid -- offered a glimpse of how Obama will seek to reenergize the independents and first-time voters who carried him to victory in 2008. Obama's rallying cry is that more work needs to be done in order to make the vision of America he promised a reality, and he is the only one who can see those hopes through.

COMMENT:  Isn't democracy hard?  Oh dear, oh dear, all that dealing with...Republicans.  Can't we just pretend the 2010 elections didn't happen, just like we erase a video recording? 

It's becoming clear that Obama intends to use juvenile arguments in 2012, just as he did in 2008, and they may work.  When you try to "youthify" politics, you get a very immature political scene.  We had it in the late sixties, we may be getting it again.  Slogans and emotions rather than policies.  Who needs to work the details?  Let's go have pizza.

Republicans aren't ready to counter this.  They don't know how, just as they haven't yet mastered the art of talking above the media directly to the American people.

Don't underestimate Obama.  There are enough children of all ages out there to send him back to the White House.

April 21,  2011