Rockin’ the vote
An article in The Hill claims that there’s an upsurge in political interest among young people:
After dipping to an all-time low of 36 percent in 1996 and 2000, voting among those aged 18 to 25 grew 11 percentage points in 2004, a trend that seems to be continuing. A Harvard University Institute of Politics survey has charted a dramatic change in the attitude of younger Americans since 2000. At that time, young Americans were disconnected from government and the political process, more concerned with stock options than politics. The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, changed all that….Initially there was a dramatic surge in support for government action, political involvement and President Bush. A lot has happened since then, including Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq and increased concern over global warming. Youthful attitudes toward the Bush administration have changed, but interest in political action has not.
The article ends by warning that “candidates for president ignore their potential and their communications channels at their peril.”
As far as the 2008 candidates, I think that Obama has definitely taken advantage of engaging the young voters in the U.S. However, this creates the problem of being very charismatic at the cost of substance in his campaign.
Before everyone grabs their pitchforks, I’ve been asking all Obama supporters what Obama stands for. Most common answer: check his website. Nobody could give me any specifics. Until I can have my question answered sufficiently, my stance on Obama will not change.