Political TV for kids

Reading through the Saturday paper Wall Street Journal this morning, I came across this article as noted at the Online Wall Street Journal for your reading pleasure. I found it quite interesting because we do have an eight year old granddaughter living with us who is smart as can be and talks about everything they do in school and what she sees on TV (thank goodness!)

This article, titled "Politics for the Preschool Set" written by Bret Stephens. Mr. Stephens begins his column relating his observations as he drops off his children at school in the morning. He notices the girl's and boy's attire, then an addition to some - an "Obama 08 campaign button." These are second graders and they are being used as promoters of politics. At that age, all I was interested in was my pet parakeet and bike riding.

Mr. Stephens writes about the TV program featured on Nickelodeon - aren't we all familiar with those programs even if we are senior citizens as I am. The show "Noggin" was presenting specific political facts about President Obama. Now there's nothing inherently wrong with discussing our Presidents on a children's program as long as it's done in a "non-partisan" way. How silly is that to use in regard to a child's program, who would have thought that a respected and traditional child's program would go so far as to promote one politician over another. In Mr. Stephens column, he writes that he had called Nickelodeon and "was told the clip was done for black history month (along with clips of other notable African-Americans) and had "no political overtones."" However, there has not been any programing relating to President Bush or any prior presidents.

What's wrong with this picture, are they so engrossed in trying to get their liberal opinion across that they would use their kids do to their showing off? I would use the term brain-washing because at that age, kids will believe anything and not understand the difference.

Please check Mr. Stephen's article and if you have difficulty accessing it online, let me know and I can type some of the good parts such as his "poem" he composed that echoed a more conservative point of view of the Obama clan vs the poem on Noggin.