I think this is what is called indoctrination. Although I need to see/read the articles & incidents to make an informed statement about this, what I've heard about these Obama songs/chants makes me cringe. It's not "cute", and you're right - a typical kid doesn't think about politics in terms of specifics, if they think about them at all. If it's teachers who are giving kids these chants, they need to be taken up before the school board and disciplined for forcing a political agenda. If it's parents, they can teach the kids whatever they want.

Political science classes in schools should be teaching kids about the office of the Presidency, and about President Obama in terms of that office, no more, no less. To do otherwise is to do our youth a disservice.

However, the people doing this shouldn't be seen as representative of the President or the people who support him, or indicative of "what Obama stands for." I'm an Obama supporter, and I do not believe in indoctrination of youth - I believe in the teaching of critical thinking skills so that our kids can make informed political decisions. And if I didn't think President Obama believes in these things, too, I wouldn't have voted for him.

It is worth saying that some kids think of 'political' things, but I'd generally say issues and events - not politics and politicians. I was very aware of the magnitude of the Berlin Wall coming down, although I couldn't have talked through the issues - and I was four. At the age of ten I gave a speech for a competition I was entered into on the destruction of the rainforest.

Saying that it's much more effective in the long term not to teach kids songs about a President that won't be around by the time they can vote, and instead teach them about the issues that you think matter so that they vote based on that in seven or eleven years.