Princess just amtrekked from Philly to the old hood – Boston’s Back Bay – for a quick respite before digging in my heels for the next 2 battles.  This morning as I strolled to Dunkin Donuts for coffee, I  incurred the wrath of college students’ stares and glares while donning my shiny new Hillary cap.  After the tenth one, I thought … what the hell do these kids know at the ripe age of 19.  Listening to their rationale for hiring Barack Obama is about as sensible as Disney paying seven figures for Hannah Montana’s life story.  Then I rewound my own life back to that age….what the hell did I know at 19?

Very little.

In Philadelphia, we were struck by many things that are not being reported in the media. Anecdotal evidence – whispers, looks and shouts – pointing to why buyer’s remorse may be setting in against the brilliant, "ipodian" marketing phenomenon that isO-BA-MA.  While canvassing Philly may have galvanized my personal reasons for supporting Hillary, it also further elucidated why other people support her.  There is no question that a lot of identity politicking is playing out right now – especially in the media.  Any person with a TV or laptop has probably picked a candidate largely because he or she can identify with that person.  At the most basic level, indeed I identify with Hillary because I am a woman. But I also vividly remember the Clinton years – a prosperous period when I was kicking my career into high gear.  Jobs were abundant.  That’s it!  That is EVERYTHING. The rest (of the issues) can be negotiated, revised and schmoozed to an acceptable end.

The teenagers and 20-somethings have no direct memory of this.  All they know is Facebook, American Idol and YouTube.  And can you blame them for indulging in the fierce energy these entities represent?  Of course not.  It’s actually refreshing that they’re peeling away from these digital vices to shout the praises of O-BA-MA on the streets of Philly. In fact, I was loving every annoying moment of it. Why?  Because the faces of pedestrians don’t lie.  They contrasted the Obama supporters with the Hillary supporters and formed their own perceptions.

I think it is wonderful that Obama, like Dean, has an army of youth at his back.  But I’ve gotta wonder if at some point this massive energy doesn’t backfire.  I even saw it on the inner-city streets of west Philly, where I politely embedded myself in Obama’s stronghold.  Across the street, hoards of 18-year-olds converged, screaming and dancing with their bullhorns: "O-BA-MA!"  Is it any wonder that a reasonable number of African-American women (and a few men) stopped to whisper: “we’re voting for Hillary.”  I did not expect this to happen as often as it had that day.  Many stopped to chat as they recounted the hope and solutions that the Clintons delivered on – more than a decade ago. I just stood there and nodded in agreement.

Hmmm….now isn’t that identity politics?