Inside the Beltway

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By Jennifer Harper INSIDE THE BELTWAY

'Generation O'

Cara and Jamie Vernon have begun the "Obama baby boom " - a phenomenon the press predicted would begin nine months after President Obama was elected.

It's a girl.

Mia Nicole Vernon was born eight weeks premature June 6 in Austin, Texas, weighing 3 pounds and 4 ounces. She is in fine fettle these days, home and happy. Mia's arrival gave her parents more than a pregnant pause.

"We did not choose to be a part of the 'Obama Baby Boom'. Shortly after her birth, I began to wonder if Mia would still be considered a part of the Obama baby boom, and it hit me: She may have started the 'Obama Baby Boom' - perhaps Mia is the first 'Obama Baby Boom' baby. We can leave the official determination to others, but until it is shown otherwise, Mia is the first, to us," Mr. Vernon told Inside the Beltway.

"The new 'Generation O' will forever be associated with this historic period of American societal change. The entire Obama campaign represented hope and optimism for us, and that is why we were comfortable bringing new life into this world at this time," he said.

Just finishing his graduate studies in molecular biology at the University of Texas, Mr. Vernon volunteered for the Obama campaign in 2008 and has since started a local chapter of Scientists and Engineers for America, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the impact of "innovative" science in politics.

"We are in the middle of a political battle over health care, and my baby daughter was born eight weeks early. This means that we were heavily dependent upon our health care coverage, and thankfully, it was good. However, if Mia was born a year later, it might be a much different story," Mr. Vernon says. "After finishing graduate school, I will be facing the possibility that I will not be able to find a job or that I will have a job that doesn't provide quality health care. We just received a bill for Mia's time in the neonatal intensive care unit, and if we didn't have health insurance, we would be bankrupted."

The family anticipates moving to Washington; Mr. Vernon intends to seek policy-related fellowships.

"I believe a world that embraces science will be a better world for my daughter," he said, musing that someday, perhaps, there will be a "Million Baby March" on Washington.