You know how kids are.
"Young voters’ ardor for Obama has wilted; Economy has hit under-30s hard" November 14, 2011|By Alex Katz, Globe Correspondent
WASHINGTON - President Obama, who hitched his ride to the White House three years ago largely on the infectious energy and organizing efforts of young Americans, faces challenges as he attempts to court their support in his reelection bid, political analysts say.
Voters under 30 have, as a group, become increasingly disillusioned dealing with the demoralizing economy. Their 13 percent unemployment rate is significantly higher than the national average, as many students graduate into a world of massive college loan debts and barren job markets.
You kids are learning real quick.
“There’s a deep-seated feeling of malaise out there,’’ said Thomas Patterson, a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government who focuses on electoral participation. “The president is going to have to get really lucky to recapture the same kind of on-the-ground energy among young people that catapulted him to a win last time.’’
Or rig some voting machines.
The numbers conveying that anxiety are stark. A survey released this month by the Pew Research Center found that just 48 percent of young voters - those 18 to 29 years old - say Obama makes them feel hopeful, compared with 81 percent in November 2008.
There are also signs that this group has begun to feel cynical about the impact of its vote....
I'm with you, kids.
There was little such ambivalence three years ago. The youthful dynamism surrounding Obama’s “Yes We Can’’ campaign then had not been seen since the 1972 presidential election, the first time 18 year olds could vote. Young Americans backed Obama in record numbers, voting 2-to-1 for him over Republican John McCain.
But it was more than a matter of votes.
“There was just a huge amount of energy,’’ said Matt Rodriguez, the New Hampshire state director for Obama’s 2008 campaign. “We had more young people than we knew what to do with. He touched a nerve with them, and we got kids from all over the country who came to work for him.’’
At least 95 percent of the campaign’s employees were under 30, former campaign manager David Plouffe wrote in his book “The Audacity to Win,’’ and students made up a significant portion of the donor pool. Above all else, they provided the pulse of the Obama phenomenon, making phone calls, knocking on doors, registering new voters.
“Right now, it’s hard to see where that magic is going to come from,’’ Patterson said.
Maybe from the little computer chip in that voting machine.
Some young Democratic leaders are worried that their peers will not even bother to vote.
“There are those my age that could easily turn a blind eye to voting and the political process as a whole,’’ said Brittany Tucker, president of the Northeastern University College Democrats.
That's what happens when you BREAK YOUR CAMPAIGN PROMISES to KIDS!!!!
The Obama campaign has aggressively sought to reengage young voters.
Its “Greater Together’’ initiative plans to mobilize them through social media, grassroots organization, and “Obama Student Summits,’’ in which campaign senior staff are dispatched to campuses across the country to discuss and debate the issues with students. The series began on Nov. 2 at the University of Pennsylvania with campaign manager Jim Messina and Philadelphia’s mayor, Michael Nutter.
The president is also courting college students and recent graduates with a plan designed to make it easier for them to repay their student loans.
How about bailing them all out like you did Wall Street?
The Pew study held some positive numbers for Obama. Young voters overwhelmingly support him in a head-to-head matchup with Mitt Romney, the Republican who polls best against the president. But their approval rating of Obama has plummeted, from 73 percent shortly after he took office to just 49 percent today, and their engagement in politics has diminished....
Perhaps the GOP’s best hope to win over the youth vote is its oldest presidential candidate: Representative Ron Paul of Texas. The 76-year-old attracted a strong following among college students and young professionals during his 2008 White House bid, and he remains intent on replicating that movement.
At the outset of his 2012 campaign, Paul said he believes the youth vote is up for grabs.
“I think there’s a lot of disenchantment there, to tell you the truth,’’ he said. “I think that Obama will not be able to hang on to that enthusiasm of the young people because what’s been happening in the last couple years.’’
Dr. Ron is right.
This is true for Aaron Ratoff, a 21-year-old senior at Tufts University. Ratoff recalls being a strong backer of Obama on campus during his freshman year in 2008. Today, his fervent admiration has developed into “measured disappointment,’’ he said.
“Obama had the right idea on a lot of things, but he hasn’t followed through on the execution and it’s been really discouraging,’’ Ratoff said. “I’ll probably reluctantly support him, but it’s still early.’’
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Related: North Carolina Goes South on Obama
Here is something else that gets old:
"Obama collecting more small donations than GOP rivals" November 20, 2011|By Dan Eggen and T.W. Farnam, Washington Post
WASHINGTON- Even with low approval ratings and an uncertain path to reelection, President Obama is exceeding expectations in one area: His campaign is doing far better at attracting grass-roots financial support this year than his GOP rivals or his own historic effort in 2008, according to new contribution data.
Related: Obama's Donors Down
WTF?
The sheer scale of small donations, totaling $56 million for Obama and his party, has surprised many Democratic strategists and fund-raisers, who feared that a sour economy would make it difficult for Obama to raise money from disenchanted and cash-strapped voters.
It certainly did me.
A Washington Post analysis shows that nearly half of his campaign contributions, and a quarter of the money he has raised for the Democratic Party, has come from donors giving less than $200. That’s much higher than it was four years ago and far beyond what the best-funded Republicans have managed.
Can you understand why I'm not buying the bullshit anymore, readers?
Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, the leading GOP fund-raisers, have instead embraced a traditional approach, focusing on big-dollar contributors who can fill the coffers without the high overhead costs of a campaign targeting small donations, the analysis shows.
Business executive Herman Cain has had more success with small donors, who have helped propel a surge in contributions to the candidate in recent weeks.
A grass-roots-oriented campaign presents both opportunities and risks for Obama, who is already weighed down by the stagnant economy, a glum public mood, and signs of disaffection among Democrats.
The focus is rooted in the belief that donors, even if they only give a few dollars, are more committed to their candidate than those who have not written a check.
“The number of small donations shows who it is that supports this president and who put him there,’’ said Katherine Hahn, a self-described “mom and artist’’ from Evergreen, Colo., who gives Obama $25 a month. “It wasn’t the powers that be so much as it was people like me.’’
A fool and their money....
But relying on donors of modest means could limit the fund-raising ability of the president, who is already showing signs of struggling to bring in big donations. Fewer than 6,000 contributors had given Obama $2,500 or more through September.
Oh, big money has abandoned Obama? Then he's through as president.
That compares with more than 8,000 maxed-out donors to Romney. And if Romney wins the nomination, the same people will be able to give much larger amounts to his campaign and the Republican Party....
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