Candidates' Children and the Media Narrative

I meant to highlight this on Friday when it came out but it got lost amidst my travels (which, btw, begin again tomorrow).

Young Voters Could Put Obama or Clinton in the White House

It's a really great all-around take on the youth vote that hits all the right points - increased turnout in previous cycles, the truth about Dean and young voters, the changing media narrative, etc.

My one pet peeve with it - and this is true for a lot of media reporting on the youth vote in the last two months - is that it mistakenly equates "celebrity" outreach by the candidate's children (be it Mitt's 5 sons, Chelsea, or the McCain 'bloguette') with real investment and connection with young voters. The narrative basically goes like this: candidate X is making an effort to connect to young voters as evidenced by the actions of son/daughter of candidate X.

In terms of the media narrative, I suppose that it's inevitable that events featuring the candidate's children get more coverage, particularly for youth vote stories. These stories have a natural news hook and they are easier to understand and report than a complicated field strategy. In some respects, it is a win for youth advocates whenever these stories are published, as they can provide positive media coverage for young voters in the campaign. Yet at times such 'celebrity' outreach can be merely a cloak covering up a lack of youth organizing within the campaign. Youth outreach isn't a media event, and campaigns should hire professional youth organizers, not punt the job to their children. And while I'm talking about the Presidential candidates here, this is a lesson that is just as true at the state and local level.

(To be clear, both Clinton and Obama DO have paid, professional youth staff).