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Obama Campaign to Youth: Extort Your Grandma.

By J. Peter Freire on 10.28.08 @ 1:37PM

If you're still hoping for the swing for McCain in the polls, there is a possibility: If all of America's youth starts harassing parents the way the Obama campaign is asking them to, you can bet parents are going to turn out in droves to vote for the big Mac. Just look at this nugget:

Ideas to Get the Conversation Started Approaching your parents about who they are voting for can be intimidating if you’ve never talked about politics with them before. But this campaign has been built by supporters sharing their stories about what inspires them and why they want to see change in this country. Here are some ideas for ways you can talk to your parents about why you support Barack: Call or ask in person if they saw the debate and what they thought about it. Tell them why you are voting for Obama and why it’s important to you.

• Print out for them information on some issues you know are important.
• Share Barack's speech from the Democratic National Convention or Meet Barack, a video about who Barack Obama is, where he comes from, and what his values are.
• Email them and tell them why it's important to you that they vote for Obama.
• Think about their perspective. If they are Republican, or are concerned about Barack’s policies, think about where they are coming from and what makes them think the way that they do.

If that's not condescending enough, here's a do's and don'ts list:

Do’s & Don’ts

• Do share your personal reasons for voting for Barack Obama;
• Do have confidence -- your opinion matters to people who care about you;
• Do read up on Barack’s positions on the issues you know matter to them;
• Do find a good time when both you and they will be open to a conversation;
• Do talk to them in person if you live nearby, or on the phone if you don’t;
• Do ask your friends to talk to their parents and grandparents as well;

• Don’t worry about knowing everything about policy positions before you have this conversation;
• Don’t feel defensive. Stay calm, cool and collected;
• Don’t wait until the last minute -- it might take a few conversations for you to convince them, so start as early as possible;
• Don’t catch them at a bad time -- make sure you have their attention and enough time to have a conversation.

Some other don'ts: "Don't accuse them of apathy about a downward-spiralling nation; Don't accuse them of racism; Don't bribe them by exchanging your christmas present for their vote." Oh wait! Some of these are actually violated already in the video provided:

"[I tell my grandmother that] if you votes for Senator Obama, then maybe you won't have to buy me that sweater, y'know come the fall... I also told them that maybe I won't help them with text messaging, or TIVO."

"They were responsible for letting this country go down in its downward spiral!"

Parents, you have four years of this to look forward to. Universal healthcare: "Dad! You just don't care about me and my friends's need for inefficient healthcare." Higher taxes: "You're being selfish and uncaring about the middle class!" ("Honey, we *are* the middle class")

Go here for the official Obama campaign's quicktips on how to harass mom and dad.