The dogs that haven't barked for the last six months have been the Obama Youth, who turned out in large numbers for him in 2008. If you can trust the exit polls (which you can't, but what else do we have to go upon?), in the two gubernatorial races tonight, both won by Republicans in states Obama carried in 2008, the under-30 share of the vote fell to about half what it was last year.

New Jersey 2008: 18-29 year olds cast 17% of votes, 67% for Obama 2009: 18-29 year olds cast 9% of votes, 57% for Corzine

2008: 73% white, 49% for Obama 2009: 73% white, 34% for Corzine

Virginia 2008: 18-29 year olds cast 21% of votes, 60% for Obama 2009: 18-29 year olds cast 10% of votes, 44% for Deeds

2008: 70% white, 39% for Obama 2009: 78% white, 32% for Deeds

Would Obama have had more legislative success if he'd kept the Kids interested by first emphasizing Saving the World through carbon capping instead of something boring and unsexy and will-never-happen-to-me like health care?

Or are young people always bored with day to day politics?

Or was Obama just a fad, like how my generation decided in 1982-83 that Men at Work was the greatest band in history?