blogsNH - Thoughts on Obama-mania and the Youth Vote - Comments

I'm a youthful voter at 60

Ken Braiterman — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:54:27 -0500

According to this string of comments and comments on comments, I'm still a youthful voter at 60.

Franklin Roosevelt, John F.Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan were inspiring speakers who changed things because they were not cockeyed, naive optimists. They were insprational. They formed consensus and got things done that changed America. (Many of the changes JFK set in motion his vice president finished because Kennedy did not live long enough.)

Each came along when the country was ready to change directions. Each had a way to communicate and form consensus and majorities. I think the country is ready for a big change this year, and I don't see Barack as a cockeyed naive optimist. I think he's grounded in reality and comfortable in his own skin, as those other great leaders/change agents/communicators were.

Re: The Problem With The Youth Vote

Justin Drake — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:54:36 -0500

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your comments! I can definitely understand your criticism of the youth vote, but I think there does need to be some degree of optimism for our future. It needs to be tempered with a bit of realism, but what I've been seeing from Washington for a great many years is cynicism and division, the belief by each party that only they have the right ideas to move us forward. This belief won't get us anywhere, and has proven to leave us in a gridlock.

I think (well, hope) that many of Obama's supporters, and any candidate for that matter, have made themselves familiar with his positions on issues and proposals for solving the problems facing our nation. As for Obama in particular, I think there are many policy positions that lead individuals to support him. He believes in civil rights for all Americans, a responsible end to the war in Iraq, tax cuts for the middle class, investment in college education so long as students invest their time in this country, a push for cleaner energy, and competition among schools to drive up quality, among others. Not saying he's right on the issues above, but just that he has made his positions explicit and known.

As for Deval Patrick, I'd agree that after the rush of the election was over it doesn't appear that much has gotten done yet. Obama is a different man with different experience, however, so I don't think we can necessarily equate one with the other.

Regardless of what Obama's "movement" looks like from the outside, it's hard to deny that it's getting more people involved in the political process than ever before. This is very exciting stuff! In recent primary states, Obama has received more votes than the two leading Republican candidates... combined. And these are "red" states like Virginia and South Carolina.

I guess the bottom line is that we need some optimism tempered with a will to actually get things done. Like in all nominating contests, whoever we vote for we'll need to hope they keep their campaign promises. It certainly is a very interesting year in election politics. I think that both of us are enjoying watching the drama unfold, at least. ;)

~Justin

The Problem With The Youth Vote

Bill Bunker — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:05:48 -0500

Justin,

Although I celebrate everyones right to vote, the youth vote is impressive but unfortunately they are filled with starry eyed optimism and idealistic vision.

We all went through that stage but the real world is very different. I listen to young people on the news speaking about Obama and have yet to hear one policy position on which they find a reason to support him. It is all about "HOPE".

Duval Patrick ran on the platform "Together we can..." in Massachusetts. My question was then.....Together we can what? Obama is running on "Yes we can".....the question begs, Yes we can....what?

His call to action is an empty one....no specifics and a record that illustrates that he will lead from only one side. We need someone who will govern from the middle as 50% of the people are not represented by either political party's doctrinaire beliefs.

You may be correct about a tough race for Republicans but remember, Obama and Clinton are at odds. In the end, the question is....will the youth vote be enough if Obama is the candidate to overcome the Clinton supporters who will not be able to bring themselves to vote for him? It all make an interesting year in politics.

Re: Promises as old as politics

Justin Drake — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:07:52 -0500

Hi Terry,

Thanks for your comment, and very good point. I think that's true for anyone running for office, whether it be for student union president or leader of the free world. The true test of leaders is whether or not they deliver on the promises they make. Our current president, who also ran as a "uniter," has done nothing but divide this country. I sure hope that if Obama is elected that he keeps his promises and is able to move this country forward.

When it comes down to it, it's hard to really gauge whether any of the candidates running would be able to keep all of their promises. Each candidate has laid out many proposals that sound good, but the key will be whether or not they will be able to actually implement them as president. From Clinton's mandate on healthcare to McCain's push to end pork, and from Obama's vision of a working majority to Huckabee's goal of investing in America's infrastructure again, it's easy to say what one would do as president, but it's a different thing to actually deliver.

Like I said before, I hope that whoever becomes the next president leads by actions and not just words. I think Obama has led by action in the past, but we'll see if he's able to do the same if elected president.

~Justin

Promises as old as politics

Terri Oberg — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:33:28 -0500

The problem with the youthful surge of support for Obama is that perhaps most of the youth are too young to recall that we have heard these same promises of bringing change to the same ole same ole. They were promises never kept, over and over again. Obama isn't the first politician going into the political arena thinking he can change the way politics operates, and thus change the world, and he most likely won't be the last either. There is no denying he is a magnificent orator, but great speeches are only a part of the job requirement. If he wins based on these promises, lets hope he can keep most of them. I shudder to think what will come if he falls short; are the hopeful, excited youth ready for that possibility?

Thoughts on Obama-mania and the Youth Vote

Justin Drake — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:34:07 -0500

I have to admit that I’ve been pretty much glued to the presidential primary race over the past few weeks, watching all of the results come in live and reading the latest snippets of information about the campaigns. There have been a lot of ups and downs for the candidates, and some game-changing withdrawals from the race recently. There have also been a great deal of surprises that have shaken up contests that once seemed fairly static.