Can Obama Keep The Youth Vote Amid A Bleak Job Market?

NEW YORK -- At 17, Rachel Marshall spent most of the 2004 presidential election sulking because she wasn't yet old enough to vote.

Four years later, Marshall more than made up for lost time by co-founding the local chapter of Ball State University’s Students for Barack Obama.

Early on in Obama’s bid for the White House, Marshall, now 24, was drawn not only to Obama’s charisma and idealism, but to his authentic ability to connect with young voters.

“You could tell he genuinely cared about our generation and was really focused on the future of this country and what kind of legacy he would make sure to leave for us,” says Marshall, who grew up in West Chester, Ohio, where House Speaker John Boehner resides. She is the lone Democrat in a family of Republicans.

After graduating from college during the peak of the recession, Marshall moved back home, unable to find a job. Two years later, she still lives in her mother’s basement.

Marshall is not unlike the legions of other 20-somethings who have fallen on hard times since demonstrating a historic show of support during Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign

But as so many recent graduates struggle with joblessness, student loan debt and a frustration with what some describe as Obama’s unfulfilled promise of change, it is unclear whether the president will be able to resurrect the magic that inspired a generation of young people to pay attention to the political process and to stand behind him.

“I think Obama cracked the code in 2008 in terms of how to engage young people -- he spoke in an inspiring way, he used technology to his benefit, he disproved conventional wisdom,” says Matthew Segal, the 25-year-old founder of Our Time, a national membership organization for young Americans under 30.

“This time around, he’s running as an incumbent who’s confronting many stark realities in terms of what’s possible,” says Segal, who advises that pragmatism might be substituted for hope and change. To win over young voters, Segal says Obama would do well to work harder at bolstering the number of jobs available for 20-somethings. 

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Comments

[AIDemocracy]

12:49 PM on 06/06/2011

The job outlook is certainly grim right now, but that shouldn't be the only thing youth consider in the 2012 presidential election. Issues such as global development and sustainability are also important--check out this post from a blogger at Americans for Informed Democracy responding to this article.
http://www.aidemocracy.org/students/young-voters-in-2012-is-it-all-about-jobs/

[Leah Watts]

11:04 AM on 05/13/2011

Jobs are usually the last thing to return when an economy is recovering from recession, and the President cannot create jobs on his own. It pi$$es me off to listen to people level blame on the President, expecting him to step'n fetchit at their command and then whingeing when he can't. You also have to keep in mind that he doesn't legislate, Congress does; and the current Congress, especially the House, don't seem too keen on job-creation. Just as a reminder to all those youthful voters with short attention spans, wasn't the President's campaign slogan, "Yes, WE can?"

[Felipe Matos]

01:35 PM on 05/12/2011

I feel no safer and I know that I am not alone. In fact , millions of Americans feel far less safe than they did that fate-filled day in 2001. And from a far more dangerous enemy. The enemy is in our midst. Consider in 2001, student loan debt was around $150 billion. In less than a decade, this amount has grown to where it now exceeds all other categories of consumer debt, and will be blowing past $1 trillion shortly. But this debt is different from other types of debt in this country. Every fundamental consumer protection was removed from these loans and the schools, lenders and government conveniently failed to inform the students. Nor did they bother to inform the public that the big lenders and their collection companies, the guarantors and even the federal government, stood to make far more money on these loans when they defaulted than when they remained in good stead. Penalties and fees could legally be extracted from the borrowers through wage garnishment, tax refund confiscation and even the taking of citizens’ Social Security and disability income. Recently, we learned that the Department of Education, which already makes a healthy profit from defaulted loans, is planning to even further “ramp up” its collection activities and stands poised to seize the bank accounts, assets, and even the homes of our fellow citizens in its unholy quest for more of the citizens’ money, extracted UNEARNED from our countrymen through a structurally predatory lending system.

[Thumbody]

10:37 PM on 05/10/2011

Lose Geithner and others and your complicit ties to wall street or stay home in 2012 Mr. Potus.

[tugboat9]

04:03 PM on 05/15/2011

Clam up,you bloviating windbag.I see you have no complaints with the worthless House GOP.

[larmarch5]

06:20 PM on 05/10/2011

Ha, he already has. He got OBL. Did anyone NOT see all those young people out that night? Even Fox's Geraldo was there covering it. And they lined the streets in Manhattan.
Add to that the totally failed GOP attempt to enact their Medigut plan and increase tax breaks for the wealthy, and you get the recent GOP Town Hall HELLNO meetings. Those were definitely NOT covered the way the Obamacare town hall meetings were covered, but they still happened.
Then toss in the Trump thumping, a very close race for the Craigslist Congressman's seat in NY, a "Path to Prosperity" that goes through women's reproductive choices, and no real challenger that can make it through the GOP primaries.
 
So, yes, now that a whole lot of people who did NOT vote in 2010 saw "Something Wicked This Way Comes", Obama has already recharged his mojo.

[lmw952]

06:10 PM on 05/10/2011

"Change" doesn't happen in 2 years - period. Congress sets the laws - period.

I'm not sure I understand what people expect "change" to look like. But I can say this:

Don't Ask, Don't Tell - repealed
Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act - signed into law
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act - signed into law
Small Business Jobs Act - signed into law
Hire Act - signed into law
Helping Families Save Their Homes Act - signed into law
Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (Card) Act - signed into law
Health Reform Act - signed into law
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - signed into law - read it!
Tax Break to 95% of Americans - did you notice the reduction in your payroll taxes?
Osama Bin Laden - dead
It goes on and on ......

You know, we really don't have to listen to the talking heads, journalists, Tea Party, Republicans or anyone else. We are all intelligent - we can read. What this administration has done, so far, is "change". Go to the White House website if you're serious about this "change" argument.

Yes, we have a long way to go - unemployment is high, gasoline prices are high - and it's frustrating. But considering what the Obama administration inherited, they don't deserve ALL the blame for the situation we're in right now.

[goleafsgo]

08:06 PM on 05/10/2011

Good post, lmw!   You are right. " We are intelligent - we can read."   Young people are intelligent and they can read.   They know what is happening in America.   They have a way of knowing the truth when they see it, and they will come through for President Obama.  They will come through for America.

Fanned and faved

[Conservative666]

08:43 PM on 05/10/2011

Obama was elected to fix the economic woes. If he doesn't do it almost 4 years, do you think people will care about the Don't Ask, Don't tell. A couple trillion more in debt and less jobs, not really a good bumper sticker.

[skraeling]

02:26 AM on 05/11/2011

I had no illusions of Obama being able to fix economy. That is media punditry run rampant. I DID think he would keep his promise to end the war in Afghanistan and close Gitmo, end rendition and signing statements...He has not done so and therefore, I can not get myself to support him..on the other hand, the clowns on the right are the sorriest group of potential candidates I have ever seen. Obama is lucky..the GOP is basically out of touch with America of today.

[tugboat9]

04:10 PM on 05/15/2011

What's your worthless GOP bumper sticker going to say?That's what I would like to know....."We promise not to screw the middle-class so bad this time" could be one of them.

[truthmachine]

06:07 PM on 05/10/2011

The paucity of jobs is a direct result of Republican policies; voting for Republicans is against almost everyone's interest.

[Conservative666]

08:47 PM on 05/10/2011

I would be interested in which policies are resulting in the paucity of jobs. And if they are still in effect, why didn't the Dems change them when they were in total power?

[Shain Eighmey]

10:11 PM on 05/10/2011

Well, the fact that whenever they tried someone decided they had a compelling need to read the Washington phone book has a bit to do with that. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have been working hard enough to fix these problems, and it's leaving a bunch of us in the middle wondering if there is some sort of hallucinogenic mold infestation in the capitol building.

[skraeling]

02:28 AM on 05/11/2011

Trickle down is a myth....time to tax the hell out of the globalists who move our jobs, take our tax money, and refuse to pay their share.

[Monday Morning]

06:01 PM on 05/10/2011

Salons: A New Intellectual Culture is Taking Shape Throughout the Country
Amidst the long, drawn-out recovery from the Great Recession, an unprecedented flowering of intellectual life is underway!

Have you been to a salon? I don’t mean where you get a manicure or pedicure. Rather, a social venue where people gather to consider pressing social issues or compelling ideas?

Amidst the long, drawn-out recovery from the Great Recession, a new intellectual culture is taking shape throughout the country. While corporate executives bemoan the financial fate of newspaper, magazine and book publishing (to say nothing of the record and movie industries), an unprecedented flowering of intellectual life is underway. It signals a rebirth of ideas in America.

These are but a sampling of the spreading grassroots movements, often facilitated by ordinary activists, nonprofit groups and corporate entities, sweeping the nation. The speak to the great desire to not simply seriously intellectually reflect on important issue and meet similar like-minded people, but to fashion a political outlook and activism that truly is personally meaningful and makes a difference. Welcome to the 21st century.

http://www.alternet.org/news/150881/salons%3A_a_new_intellectual_culture_is_taking_shape_throughout_the_country?page=4

[flossophy]

10:10 PM on 05/10/2011

Ooo... I would be a big hit at the salons.

[Monday Morning]

12:37 AM on 05/11/2011

I'm sure you would! Find a salon and go for it :-)

[Consequence]

05:43 PM on 05/10/2011

Unfortunately for Obama he is going to have to do more than promise "Hope and Change."


He now has an actual record - dismal as it is - that he is going to have to explain.


This is definitely NOT the "Change" that people were looking for.

[larmarch5]

06:25 PM on 05/10/2011

As do Republicans. Google "Republican Town Hall Meetings."
These werent covered like the teapers outrages, but you better believe the House Republicans, who already VOTED for Medigut, heard them. Now Wall Street is putting full bore pressure on Boehner to raise the debt ceiling. He's like a guy being strung up over a pond of alligators.

[BeerRun]

07:39 PM on 05/10/2011

I would pay to see that.

[miamorphos]

09:57 AM on 05/11/2011

When astroturf groups organized by the GOP television network and talk radio disrupt town halls, it's "the people." When there are problems at Republican town halls, it's dismissed as something that was organized by someone the Republicans don't like, so it doesn't matter. I say, let's fight the right with everything we have in this election cycle. I think most people have seen what the Republicans offer, now that they've become an astroturf special interest themselves.

[goleafsgo]

08:07 PM on 05/10/2011

You obviously know nothing about the President's  record which is more than impressive.

[skraeling]

02:29 AM on 05/11/2011

keep telling us that...and you will soon believe it...we don't.

[mendelcrosses]

05:07 PM on 05/10/2011

I dont think Obama knows the meaning of the word 'Change' any more.

[larmarch5]

06:32 PM on 05/10/2011

These 100 are through March 2010.
http://simplifythepositive.blogspot.com/2010/03/100-accomplishments-of-president-barack.html
 
You can google more "Obama Accomplishments".
 
Three problems for Obama:
1. Expectations were set very high given his election and majorities in both houses. However, many of the new dems were quite conservative, Joe Lieberman played spoiler, and lobbyists flooded the chambers. Chamber of Commerce spent about $5 million a WEEK against the progressive agenda.
2. The media did not cover all the "changes" nor did the WH extoll them loudly and proudly.
3. Obama, with his coolness and thoughtfulness, often makes it "look too easy".
 
Now shall we talk about the problems for his possible challengers?

[goleafsgo]

08:14 PM on 05/10/2011

You are right about the media, larmarch.   It is one of the biggest obstacles the Democratic Party has to overcome if they are to be successful.   Just look at the coverage since the President got OBL.    Focus is on the Teapublicans  and their responses - their criticisms.   All there coverage and interviews ask questions that will elicit negativity.
Faved by a fan.

[Thumbody]

10:44 PM on 05/10/2011

The media loves and IS the left who are you trying to kid?

[sixx]

03:45 PM on 05/10/2011

No, there is no magic in voodoo economics and militarism, just debt and joblessness.

[Hoe Toe]

03:13 PM on 05/10/2011

Jobs anyone? housing market down? Oh I got healthcare coming and it's paid for. Obama said it was.

[beauregard62]

03:41 PM on 05/10/2011

Well that is definitely more than you got from 8 years of Bush/Cheney Co.

[Jabs Holt]

03:46 PM on 05/10/2011

Lets see....When the repubs had all 3 HOUSES .....Unemployment 4.6 %........Housing stable.........Debt minimal for 2 wars.......! ! ! Since then Unemployment 8.8% and climbing again.....Housing in the Toilet.....and instead of usattacking people in 2 countries now we do it in 4 ! ! ! Aphganistan,Iraq,Libya and Pakistan !...........I agree we got a LOT MORE !

[k man]

03:49 PM on 05/10/2011

Yeah, we definitely got a lot more people out of work in just 2 years...

[Shain Eighmey]

03:12 PM on 05/10/2011

I think that a lot of people my age really never understood the government or took the time to listen to what Obama was saying. The people I knew who were like this are the primary group I see who have lost faith in President Obama for not solving all of our problems at once. However, most of these people appear to be simply too discouraged with the government to vote, although a few have swung over to the far right because that is where the "party" is now.

So, I'm predicting a lower turn out for my generation than last year, but still breaking in the President's favor.

[flossophy]

03:53 PM on 05/10/2011

Why do you think the younger generations are having a difficult time understanding the economic consequences of a second Obama term?

[ApolloniaCreed]

04:30 PM on 05/10/2011

It's you. I should have known. smh.

[Shain Eighmey]

06:25 PM on 05/10/2011

I'd imagine much the same reason all of the generations are. The global economy has changed so extensively that nothing we really knew historically can be relied upon as indicators for what to do today. No one can truthfully claim to accurately and precisely predict the economic consequences of any indirect market forces these days.

[Jabs Holt]

02:47 PM on 05/10/2011

Lets see Higher GAS prices ...Higher Unemployment....Higher Debt and fighting in 3 countries not 2 !................To the young ones........Do you really want 4 more yrs of the same !

[ApolloniaCreed]

03:15 PM on 05/10/2011

Yeah... ummm regurgitating old Reagan campaign slogans is not going to work with millennials. They have access to way to much information to be susceptible to 1980s campaign strategies. You’re going to have to adopt something a little more sophisticated than your current talking point.

[Jabs Holt]

03:21 PM on 05/10/2011

Acually I used Obama's .....Your buddy LOL !

[Jabs Holt]

03:22 PM on 05/10/2011

But I guess your right I should be more sophistica­ted !

[ApolloniaCreed]

03:24 PM on 05/10/2011

*too much.

[ALiberalKidd]

02:21 PM on 05/10/2011

Yes, president Obama will keep some of his young, naive, and well-intentioned progressive supporters, but for more strongly principle and demanding young progressive voters, Mr. Obama is an absolute "republican lithe" trader, unworthy of another term, even if this means a republican president.

It is preferable to have a real republican doing all these bad things around the world, rather than a closet republican/democrat.

[Debbie McPherson]

02:32 PM on 05/10/2011

Aliberal
 
F & F
 
yes, I agree ---Obama may think he can ride the "I got OBL" horse to victory ---but I think young Americans are too smart to buy into his campaign stomping  rhetoric  ---because they have had plenty of examples of just how dishonest this administration has been...
 
Obama has no credibility and to make matters work he is a complete warmonger/fearmonger and is just way too happy to be using his drones to kill innocent people randomly in the Middle east
 
Obama's future for America is just more war and more austerity measures at home...
 
I think young Americans will choose far better than Obama ---- hopefully their newfound love for Ron Paul and his support will liberty will continue to ring true with them.. 
 
More Obama means more govt, more Homeland Security, more police state...
 

[skraeling]

02:36 AM on 05/11/2011

HUH? Those are GOP favorites...along with Wall St, banks, religions....We are not that dumb....A vote for any Republican at this time is a vote against oneself and ones' country.

[RocheTm]

05:09 PM on 05/10/2011

Yes it would be so much better to have someone all out destroying everything this country has accomplished since the 30s.