Right now, Democrats are like old people trying to win over jaded teenagers. Grandpa Obama is up there, cajoling and wheedling the base into getting pumped up. Could pot be the secret ingredient that brings young Liberals to the polls?

The Wall Street Journal reports that "Democratic strategists are studying a California marijuana-legalization initiative to see if similar ballot measures could energize young, liberal voters in swing states for the 2012 presidential election." Apparently they believe pot-legalization measures like California's Proposition 19 could do for Democrats in 2012 what gay marriage bans did for Republicans in 2004: get sympathetic voters to turn out on the issue and vote for your guys in the process.

Who knows if this will actually amount to anything, but it is a terrible idea. First off: Your strategy is to "energize" stoners? Secondly: Isn't this a lot like that random 43-year-old dude who shows up at a college house party and plies the assembled co-eds with hits from his bong?

College Kid 1 Dude, why is that old guy hanging around telling boring stories about the 80s? He's sort of creeping me out.
College Kid 2 Who knows. But he's got some killer shit and he's just handing it out.

Trying way too hard, Democrats. Although if it were Joe Biden leading the charge for legalizing pot it might be less of a creepy-dude-at-the-party situation and more of a Cool Dad scenario. I'm just going to close the basement door and I don't care what you kids do down there. Just be safe.

Mr. Biden probably smokes hella herb. So chill.

[Image via AP]