Speaking of Those Kids: Andy Ferguson wonders if Dean is less George McGovern, more Eugene McCarthy. Their personalities are rather different, he concludes, but there are similarities in the political landscape. One of them is the demographics of core support. In the process of describing this core, Ferguson nails the mindset of the young political activist:

Anyone who's ever worked on a political campaign before the age of, say, twenty-four knows where the real interest lies, and it's not in a "serious discussion of the issues in hopes of advancing a progressive agenda for the future of this country" or whatever. It's the cold pizza at four A.M., it's the naps stolen on the headquarters floor, it's the fast friendships, it's the sex--real if you're lucky, hypothetical otherwise. It's the best of dorm life, and no classes the next morning. It is like this in every Children's Crusade, in 1968 no less than in 2004.

That's what Dean has this year. He's the candidate offering the opportunity to feel important, work for a cause, and heckle the Republicans, with an option to get beat up by cops at the convention. And maybe, just maybe, he's going to get you laid.