March 3, 2008 6:17PM
The Youth Vote
By Alexis Glick
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Tomorrow is what many people are calling “Super Tuesday Part 2″ or “Make it or break it time for Sen. Clinton.” There are primaries and/or caucuses tomorrow in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.
In my morning preparation for today’s show, I discovered some very interesting statistics — and one article that I was so fascinated by that I asked my executive producer to book the writer or principal for tomorrow’s show.
So what are the stats? They’re the stats that everyone is talking about! The youth vote.
According to SAVE (Student Association for Voter Empowerment), turnout for voters under 30-years-old quadrupled in Tennessee, tripled in Georgia, Oklahoma and Missouri, and doubled in Massachusetts on Super Tuesday. This comes in the wake of the Iowa caucuses, which drew 65,000 people under 30 (a 9% increase since 2004), and the New Hampshire primary, which attracted 84,000 young voters (a 15% increase since 2000).
So what is happening and why are today’s college students getting involved?
Take a look at this article from Fortune magazine. It’s called “Obama’s Web Marketing Triumph.” Devin Leonard, who wrote the article, interviewed an advertising chief innovation officer from Publicis, one of the biggest advertising agencies in the world. The subject: “Why Senator Barack Obama appears to be outmaneuvering Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary?” I know you are rolling your eyes right now and saying, “I’ve been hearing this for months Alexis, don’t bother me.” Read it. Trust me. According to this advertising executive, whose job it is to analyze the changing Internet world and how companies can change their advertising strategy based on that, Sen. Obama is a “digital candidate” and Sen. Clinton an “analog candidate.” Why do you care? Because this campaign is being used by advertising executives as a case study. The campaign strategies that both Democratic candidates are using are being compared to the brand and strategy of major multinational corporations. Trust me, I wouldn’t steer you wrong. Take a look. This is how our world is changing and evolving and in some measure why the youth in this country are showing up at the polls.
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As Gen Xer going back over twenty years ago I felt disenfranchised by both parties.Why? They make these promises and they don’t pan out. I didn’t benefit from Reagonomics for example. But I don’t give up. We GenXers are bigger population than the Boomers. Now Sen Obama is good on message but is he good with substance? He comes across as a marvelous orator but does he have real solutions to real problems. Case in point what about the exscalting tensions between Columbia and Venuzeula. Now Ecuador has enter the mix
Real question is how would he and Sen. Hillary Clinton a real possible growing nsc sitiution? A crisis like this has cause oil prices to spike up already.
Just take my advice learn as much as you can about about all canidates running for president.
Alexis,
Your article was very interesting. The funny thing is that I was thinking about this very thing earlier tonight. Having trouble deciding who to vote for myself, it dawned on me that perhaps we should be listening to the youth of America. As my time is limited because of age and have been through alot of history making over time, our country is not doing very well and hasn’t been for many many years. Perhaps listening to the youth of today there is so much on the line for their future. My future is hampered by the Presidents of the past. Lets listen to them for a change. They might see something for their future that is in the president of their choice today.
Hi whoever you are,
I don’t watch your show or Fox News. I just wanted to give you the 411 about the youth vote (”411″ is what we youth like to say when we mean “the real deal” or “the straight talk express” as senior citizens like to call it ;-). Obama didn’t win me over by how his website looks.
He won me over at the DNC convention in 2004 (which is something, since I’m not registered as a D.) Obama caught people’s attention by captivating oratory, and sounding like our generation’s MLK. He kept people’s attention by being an intellectual heavy weight, having headed Harvard Law Review and been a constitutional law professor at UChicago.
But after I decided to vote for him, I’ll happily admit to using his very nicely designed website, to network with other voters, and to give more than I’ve ever contributed to any campaign.
Please give young people more credit than falling head over heels for packaging. Some of us are even smarter than you are