Obama appealed to majority of young voters
By Tulika Bose
Nov. 11, 2008 9:46 p.m.
Some attributed it to race, some to change.
But for the hundreds of screaming Georgetown University students who swarmed the White House steps on the evening of Nov. 4, and for students all over the country, including UCLA, Obama’s campaign took on an entirely new meaning ““ one of triumph.
Polls now indicate that Obama’s victory ““ due in part to his aggressive courting of the youth vote ““ may have had more to do with uniting young voters than in turning them out.
Though exit polls showed that young voter turnout only increased 1 percentage point from 2000 and 2004, voters under 30 voted for Obama by more than a 2-1 margin, according to the Associated Press.
According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, (CIRCLE) only 54 percent of young voters voted for the Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004, with 45 percent voting for Bush.
This year, an estimated 68 percent of young voters favored Obama over 30 percent for McCain, the highest number of the youth vote ever obtained by any candidate, according to CIRCLE.
In his acceptance speech, Obama called the movement “a rejection of the myth of their generation’s apathy,” and political pundits everywhere claimed “Obama-ism” had grasped the nation’s youth.
But the biggest reason for Obama’s success, according to some students, may just have been the need for a massive image makeover in the White House.
“I was joking with all of my friends … We’ve got a black man in the White House. We’ve got a black man in the house,” said Marlon Fuentes, a fourth-year ethnomusicology student.
He said that though he and his friends used to joke about having a black president, he never believed it was possible ““ until now.
But he also said that though he felt race was an important factor, he really believed that Obama’s stance on class issues propelled the youth vote.
“It’s not only about race … Obama gets it. He knows that sacrifices are going to have to be made … but now maybe that guy in the mansion will help the boy down the street go to college,” Fuentes said, citing Obama’s controversial tax policy that would “spread the wealth around.”
Like many other students swayed by Obama’s message of change, Fuentes believed that Obama was going to work for and with them to boost the economy, help end the war and play a cultural role.
“I believe that Obama is going to do more for the arts than previous candidates … Obama’s priorities and values are based on equality, education and health … all of those are conducive to culture,” Fuentes said.
He cited an article in Rolling Stone that claimed Obama loved Stevie Wonder, lived in Hawaii, had smoked marijuana and “even a little blow,” (cocaine) in high school.
“It’s like when Clinton played the saxophone … young people just get him,” Fuentes said, adding that Obama, like Clinton, catered to the youth vote.
Frank Gilliam, the dean of UCLA public affairs and professor of political science, said he had not seen that much excitement swarm a candidate since John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960.
“Obama is going to inspire a lot of young people to go into politics … That’s what happened when Kennedy was elected, it got people really exited,” Gilliam said.
“Government is going to seem like an honorable and exiting career now instead of something shabby.”
He added that for young minority voters, Obama’s election also represented a new way in which they would view themselves ““ confidently and unafraid of moving up in society.
“You can’t maintain a really deep racial stereotype when your primary symbolic leader of the entire nation is himself not only African American, but incredibly intelligent,” Gilliam said.
But Gilliam added that the kind of idealism that drove up the youth vote may also leave some sorely disappointed.
“People who think that just electing a president will change things quickly will be disillusioned. There will be a lot of things that he wants to do that he simply may not be able to do with the terrible catastrophe that he’s facing,” Gilliam said.
Cheyyenne Manske, a first-year biology and pre-medical student, said that though she doesn’t think that Obama can fix all of the nation’s problems in four years, she firmly believes that he will inspire young people to try harder.
“Something about the president holds a special place in people’s hearts … he’s inspired young people to do things that they didn’t think they could. As a white woman, I’m very inspired by what he has accomplished,” Manske said.
She added that Obama made her, as a medical student, think about politicizing her career.
“I’m now thinking about doing something like Doctors Without Borders, something global,” she said.
“It’s possible now. Students have seen how they can have an influence in politics.”
