Living on your parents’ couch or being continually discouraged in a summer job search really helps to remove some of the luster from the once-enticing promises of Hopenchange.

◼ New youth voters are feeling oddly less enthusiastic about Obama now than in 2008 - HotAir
◼ Millennial Malaise: O is Like a Bad Boyfriend - Backyard Conservative
◼ Stung by Recession, Young Voters Shed Image as Obama Brigade - NYT

“I think the lack of excitement right now is palpable enough to be a challenge to the re-election campaign” of Mr. Obama, said Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

The Romney campaign intends to seize the moment, with new online and campus-based initiatives rolling out in the next few weeks, said Joshua Baca, the campaign’s national coalition director. He said the message would be simple: Mr. Obama’s economic policies are not working for young people.

The strategy? “Dorm room to dorm room” or “parent’s basement to parent’s basement, wherever they are because of the economy, that’s where we’ll be going,” Mr. Baca said. “The key to this is having a very strong volunteer base to knock on doors.”

For its part, the Obama campaign has already started outreach efforts focusing on teenagers in high school. It has organized youth rallies in swing states over the last few months and plans to be a force on college campuses in the fall.

◼ Losing younger voters - Neal Boortz