Hilarious.

When I set out in the Boston neighborhood of Allston to do my man-on-the-street interviews about involvement in politics in the 18-24 crowd, I wasn't expecting much of a response. I live in Allston. Allston is a young neighborhood, with more than half of its residents between the ages of 20 and 34 (according to a 1990 census).

I wouldn't have been surprised if one or two of the people I interviewed had said they saw Obama the first time he spoke at the Common, but weren't going again because they didn't want to cough up the $23 [the second time he came to town, the fund-raiser cost that much to attend]. Or that The Daily Show made Giuliani seem like a real tool, so they’d like to vote for someone who could beat him. Something along those lines. And, to be quite honest, their lack of political involvement-- their overwhelming "no" answers to the last question, "Are you involved in the campaign of the candidate you support in the primary?"-- didn't surprise me in the least. It didn't even offend me that much.

At the risk of sounding like yet another politically-apathetic Allstonite, it is "just" the primary. It's not like I was talking to people who said they didn't plan on voting in the presidential election because they didn't care, or because they didn't think their vote mattered. Most people I talked to said they were registered to vote, even if they weren't sure with what party. The Massachusetts primary isn't until March 4—they have another 3 months to decide who they want to vote for, if anyone. The optimist in me thinks that at least a few of them will watch the debates after it’s narrowed down to two candidates. They’ll pick the candidate whose views best match their own, and go to the polls on Election Day.

What surprised me was how comfortable everyone seemed with this. “Oh, are these questions all about politics?” one person asked me after he answered that he doesn’t affiliate himself with a political party, “If they are, you’re asking the wrong person.” One of the young women I interviewed, after telling me she hadn’t picked a candidate she supports for the 2008 primary, said “Oh, is that all?” and she smiled as if she’d just successfully completed a test. Several of the people I surveyed were with a friend or two at the time. The group would laugh together when one of them answered they didn’t actually know anything about the candidates.

The optimist in me hopes the laughter is a defense mechanism, a way of getting around the embarrassment they might feel for not fulfilling an obligation to be at least politically aware, if not involved.

The pessimist in me says that the young adults I spoke to don’t actually feel this obligation in any way. That they have immersed themselves in a culture that is typical of our generation, a climate of political apathy in which their own ignorance of politics is funny.

Almost as funny as The Daily Show.

Where Have All the Campaign Events Gone?

Task: compile a list of presidential primary events that would appeal to young adults aged 18 to 29 in the greater Boston area. Given that this age group is social and that New Hampshire (which falls within the geographical limits of my search) is a haven for political junkies, sounds easy, right?

Wrong.

My first intuition was to search on each candidate's website - all 17 of them - and find events in the Boston area. This strategy proved to be relatively fruitless for one of three reasons: the website did not have a link, page or section devoted to campaign events; the website had an events page but was either outdated or only included events up to four days in the future; or the events page had hundreds of events added by supporters and comprised mostly house parties and postcard-writing sessions.

I checked CNN, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Boston Now, boston.com - nothing, or at least nothing that I hadn't already found.

The pages with the most events were the front-runners: Clinton and Obama, mostly. Not too much in the way of Republican events, though. This gives rise to the age-old debate over whether the richest candidates always win simply because they have the most resources and staff members to publicize their campaign efforts. But that's another story for another day.

The journalist in me began to dig deeper; instead of trying to find the seemingly nonexistent events, I tried to figure out why there were no events catered toward the under-30 piece of the voting public pie.

This demographic has been notoriously absent in the polls on voting day, although numbers are rising. Are candidates simply ignoring them because they get better results from more politically involved age groups? Or are young adults less apt to vote because candidates ignore the issues most important to them? Or is it something else altogether? Eventually, this age group will become middle-aged and senior citizens and today's voting majority will no longer be around to dominate the political scene.

It seems like a good strategy (to me at least, although politics confuses me more than quantum physics) that candidates begin to address this age group and the issues important to them in order to build support for the future.

Well, maybe they are trying. Even though most of the events in the Boston/New Hampshire area are fundraisers, house parties and stamp-licking sessions - which may or may not appeal to young adults - candidates have found a new way to reach out to young voters: cyberspace.

Most of the candidates' websites included a section with links to Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and other online social networking sites that seem to be popular among the college crowd. Candidates have profiles and host events through these sites, and supporters can create or join groups and participate in discussion forums about their favorite candidate.

Our survey asked young adults in the Boston area what they think is the most effective way for candidates to reach their age group: campus or citywide events, online events or debates, or both? The answer was split pretty evenly into thirds.

So while some young adults may be encouraged to vote by online resources, others still prefer to see the candidate in person or feel that the candidate cares enough to visit their corner of the country.

But the category of 18 to 29 is very split when it comes to online networking. When Facebook was launched in 2004, today's 29-year-olds were well out of college, while today's 18-year-olds were freshmen in high school. As the Internet continues to grow, so might online support for candidates. But a good, old-fashioned pep rally never hurt anybody either.

Obama’s Confessional

Here’s a pop quiz:

Question: How in the world does the following statement fit into the presidential campaigns?
“I was kind of a goof off in high school... I got into drinking and experimented with drugs.”

Answer: Barack Obama said this in a speech at a New Hampshire high school on November 20.

Reuters news agency quoted Obama as saying, “I made some bad decisions… There were times when I got into drinking and experimented with drugs. There was a whole stretch of time where I didn’t really apply myself. It wasn’t until I got out of high school and went to college that I started to realize, man, I wasted a lot of time.”

Why would this presidential hopeful air his dirty laundry to high school students and to the country? It seems that he was trying to connect with the young audience, the majority of whom aren’t old enough to vote. He probably wanted to confess his regrets so they don’t make similar mistakes. It was a move to portray himself as real – just another person who makes mistakes, learns and moves on.

But could his confessions also be interpreted as shrugging off the importance of high school and condoning experimentation? Obama got away with goofing-off, drinking and doing drugs in high school, and then went on to Harvard and is now running for president. Is high school overrated? Do authority figures overreact to partying and slacking in school?

Reuters quoted a 14-year-old high school student as saying, “I think everybody deserves to play around a little bit, you know?...He got his priorities straight, you know." It looks like he interpreted Obama’s remarks to mean that slacking off in high school doesn’t do much harm and is even suggestive of having balance in ones’ life.

If I were Obama’s political advisor, I would say, “Go ahead and talk to high school kids. Talk with them in a way that you connect – get at what they’re thinking about. Admit that you wished you had taken high school more seriously, that you regret you tried drinking before you were of age, but for heaven’s sake, unless you’re asked directly, leave the illegal drugs bit out of it!”

The American people should expect candidness out of their candidates…it’s to voters’ advantage. However, politicians need to be smart in what they confess about things that are irrelevant to how well they will govern as president.


Access the Reuters article at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2007/11/20/obama-visits-nh-high-school/

Poll Shows Young Adults More In Tune with Race to '08

A new public opinion poll of 400 18-to 30-year-old voters
shows that young adults are paying close attention to the 2008
presidential race.

More than three-fourths of the young adults polled by Sacred Heart University in conjunction with Rock the Vote and WWE Smackdown Your Vote, said they are paying a "great deal" of attention to the campaigns.

According to the Young Voters Strategies, a nonpartisan advocacy group encouraging young voters, those poll results show engagement is up compared to similar polls conducted before the last presidential election.

The most important issue among those polled was the Iraq war. Healthcare, the economy and education ranked as the other key issues to young voters.

And what candidates do they support?
More than half of young Democrats polled -- 54 percent -- favored Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama was a distant second with 24 percent, followed by John Edwards with 8.4 percent.

Among young Republicans polled, Rudy Giuliani was out in front with more than 32 percent,followed by Fred Thompson with 20 percent,Mitt Romney with 16 percent, and John McCain with 13 percent.

Kathleen Barr, research director with Rock the Vote, said in a recent press release that the polls result show that young voters are a key element of the 2008 election. In fact, the young adult vote, says Barr, has increased in the past two major elections after almost 30 years of decline.

See full poll results.

Bay State Primary On the Move?

This just in: The Boston Globe is reporting that there is a push for the Massachusetts state primary now scheduled for March to be moved up a month to February, which could give the Bay State the potential to be a powerhouse player in the presidential nominating process.

This move could happen as early as November 21, when the legislature ends its session.

The Globe says the suggestion is coming from Secretary of State William F. Galvin. He's already got the support of House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, who believes this would increase the significance of Massachusetts primary votes, and possibly inspire more people to participate.

As a Massachusetts voter, this change would certainly put the fire under me to vote in a primary that would otherwise seem inconsequential.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/08/galvin_seeking_earlier_primary/

Obama and Patrick Galvanize Supporters on Boston Common

BOSTON__The Barack Obama rally on Boston Common Tuesday seemed more like a rock concert than a political rally as supporters arrived nearly two hours early to vie with each other for a spot near the stage.

The event highlighted Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's endorsement for Obama's presidency that he gave last week and sought to galvanize a massive grassroots organization to help campaign for the Illinois senator throughout New England.

In his speech, Patrick discredited many of the criticisms Obama has heard during his campaign such as his lack of experience both in Washington and as a foreign diplomat.

“You know this man is book smart and street smart.” Patrick said. “He has learned to live with and learned from people all over the world, he has studied with the elite and worked for the vulnerable.”

Patrick’s endorsement choice was under a watchful eye because of the ability he showed last fall to mobilize a powerful grassroots movement to secure his seat on Beacon Hill. This ability will be a valuable asset for Obama’s campaign in neighboring New Hampshire, which holds the first primary in the country. Patrick also has close ties to both top presidential frontrunners Clinton and Obama.

He called on the supporters, hundreds of whom were young adults and college students that came to cheer on the candidate, to rile up the troops and start campaigning immediately.

“We’re going to have to work the phones and walk the neighborhoods and take down the names and the numbers and do the follow ups and make the case for each person,” Patrick said. “We’re going to have to ask our friends to take a chance not on another kid from Chicago with a funny name but on our own aspirations and hopes for a better America.”

After congratulating the Red Sox Nation for the team’s recent victory and entry into the World Series against the Colorado Rockies, Obama encouraged his supporters to help him get elected and to help create “a new kind of politics that represents each and everyone.”

Obama called for numerous ideals that he would enact if elected, including creating universal healthcare reform, lessening the country’s dependence on foreign oil and ending the war in Iraq.

“This election is about character, this election is about values, this election is about judgment and experience that comes not just from sitting in a committee room but from working along side the American people,” Obama said.

He also promised to change the way higher education is paid for in America by taking the banks and private interest out of the college finances and providing government aide for students who go to college to become teachers, social workers, nurses and other high demand professions.

“I’m angry that we are not providing an education for every man and woman in America,” he said. “We’re going to make college affordable and accessible to every young person in America.”

Young supporters from across the state came out to hear the presidential hopeful speak and vowed to get involved in the campaign effort in Boston and New Hampshire, which has the first primary in the nation and holds a great influence in the outcome of the primary elections.

Boston University freshmen Lauren Dobbs and Lauren Snyder—with “Barack the Vote” and “Obama in ‘08” painted on their faces—jumped at the opportunity to get involved in the campaign. The pair is planning to campaign for Obama in Manchester, New Hampshire this weekend.

“We just shook hands with him (Obama), I can’t believe it,” Snyder said as Dobbs squealed with excitement to her friend on the phone. “And he said he liked our face paint.”

Hundreds of young adults roamed the Common after the rally, thriving off the energy from Obama’s speech, waving signs and reveling in excitement as if they had just met their favorite rock star.

Derek Ortner, a student from Brandies University, first saw Obama’s speech four years ago at the Democratic National Convention in Boston and said his enthusiasm grew ever since.

“I was so psyched that he decided to run that I just had to start campaigning,” said Ortner, who has been making trips to New Hampshire to knock on people’s doors and tell them about Obama. “He’s just such an intelligent man and a dynamic candidate I have to try everything I can to get him elected.”

BU Students Give Brownback Mixed Review

In a break from the typical campaign trail, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Sam Brownback, spoke at Boston University Monday, where he encouraged students to get involved in policy work for African nations and to take impact trips to continent that he says is often forgotten about.

Brownback, the republican senator from Kansas, kept campaign rhetoric to a minimum at the African Presidential Archives and Research Center 2007 lecture series. In fact, he only uttered the words, “If I were president” once throughout the hour-long speech.

The crowd of roughly 150 students, professors and members of the ARACP listened attentively while Brownback said his most important point was that the U.S. should engage diplomatic relations with African countries.

“There’s a lot going on in Africa that’s good such as economic development,” Brownback said. “But there’s also a lot of problems. There’s a huge amount of suffering and every time you go there you see the beauty of the people that are dealing with this suffering.”

Brownback, who has taken multiple trips to Africa, including a trip to the Darfur region of Sudan, encouraged students to travel there themselves. He also commended recent activist campaigns in recent years that were initiated by college students, such as the Save Darfur campaign and the Invisible Children campaign.

“Just go and see it because you’ll never be the same,” he said. “Definitely be safe about it, but go and you’ll be different. It’ll be a great thing for you and it’ll be a great thing for the United States.”

Brownback took a handful of questions from students in the audience and from a class of ten students from Morehouse University in Atlanta, who watched the lecture via satellite.

Boston University student Jeremy Binckes said Brownback hardly answered his questions about the pros and cons of privatizing the water supply in African nations and he wasn’t impressed with Brownback’s speech overall.

“The dialogue was good enough, I guess,” Binckes said. “But his speech was really based on anecdotal information and there wasn’t anything substantive on the issues he was promoted to address, which was the threat of Al Qaeda, Africa and U.S. security, but I guess it was better than a typical campaign speech—that would have been incredibly tactless.”

Most of the students attending the lecture were more interested in the topic of U.S.-African relations rather than Brownback’s candidacy for president. A number of students actually didn’t even know who Brownback is or that he was running for president.

“I didn’t know anything about him before tonight,” said BU freshman Melissa Kyle. “There are so few candidates you see even talking about this issue. I’m a democrat and wouldn’t vote for him for president, but I’d definitely get behind him and volunteer or support the Africa cause.”

Clinton fundraiser at Symphony Hall, Boston

Sen. Clinton Appeals to Young Voters in Boston

BOSTON__Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton stopped by Boston Symphony Hall this Wednesday to address 3,000 plus supporters made up of mostly young adults from throughout Massachusetts at the largest fundraising event New York Senator’s has ever hosted in Boston.

While the event was targeted to appeal to young adults, with a performance from the Buffalo band the Goo Goo Dolls and affordable ticket prices, Clinton’s statements were aimed more toward encouraging women voters to spread the word to help make the her the first woman president.

“American can be anything we want it to be,” Sen. Clinton said to the sold out crowd. “If someone tells you we can’t elect a woman president, you tell them ‘yes we can’.”

And a slew of the state’s most prominent women such as State Senate President Therese Murray, Boston city council president Maureen Feeney and founder of the Barbara Lee foundation to get women involved in politics, Barbara Lee reiterated the need for a woman president.

Most of Clinton’s speech addressed the array of issues that have consumed the Democratic presidential campaigns in the past months such as healthcare reform, ending the war in Iraq and taking jabs at the current administration. However, Clinton took some time to tell to the student filled crowd what she plans to do for students if she were elected president.

“The cost of college has gone up faster than the cost of healthcare in the past ten years,” she said, making a promise to young voters that any “student who works hard will be able to go to college.”

But Clinton’s promise to make college affordable for all didn’t rally the crowd as much as her anti-administration slander and bring the troops home promises. The crowd nearly erupted every time Clinton uttered a word about stopping the war in Iraq.

"We're going to end this era of cowboy diplomacy," she said to a raving crowd.

Large groups from local colleges including Boston College, Harvard, Simmons, Mt. Holyoke, Boston University, Emerson and Wellesley, where Clinton received her undergraduate degree came to the event to show support for the candidates or hear what she had to say. Many of the young adults used the event to network with each other and get to know other supporters who are planning to carpool up to New Hampshire to campaign for Clinton in the first primary in the nation.

Many young students said they were Clinton supporters before they heard her speak, however, many students on the edge said Clinton's performance pushed them to fully support the her for the presidency.

“Honestly, I wasn’t really sure if I was going to support her before I came tonight,” Lillian Schruben, 18-year-old freshman from Mt. Holyoke said. “But she was so engaging and passionate tonight I think I’ve changed my mind.”

The ability to vote also invigorated Wellesley freshman Katie Sheahan, 18, who came to the event with a group of classmates supporting the candidate and cheer on three of the university’s acapella choir groups that performed for the fundraiser.

“This is the first time I can vote and it’s a pretty historical and powerful election.” Sheahan said. “That’s why I think I’m so interested in figuring out which candidate I’m going to support by going to events like this.”