Obama's Youth Army Takes Aim at Mom and Dad

Barack Obama has a secret weapon in winning over undecided voters: their children, who have glommed onto the Illinois senator as they would a rock star. Voters from both parties tell the New York Times that their issue has turned them around on the issues—or at least turned them onto the youthful candidate—with dinner-table pitches and cold calls home from college.

Obama has picked up 60% of young Democrats in the primaries thus far, but lost narrowly with Dems old enough to be their parents. So sites like YrMama4Obama are encouraging kids to press the flesh with their progenitors as Pennsylvania looms. One psychologist says the youthful élan reminds many parents of lost idealism, but adds that this generation of parents is "more swayed by" its offspring: "a lot of parents are a little afraid of their kids.”