Obama tries to recapture his youth vote
Christopher Nelson, The Grio, October 15, 2010

It may be 2010 but President Obama is trying to do what both his predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, tried to do before him, which is get young voters to “Rock the Vote”. The phrase often used during the early 1990s described the initiative which found singers, rappers, actors and other entertainers trying to bridge the gap between popular culture and politics, and such efforts may have been reinvigorated with Thursday’s youth town hall.

During the televised event hosted by BET, CMT, and MTV, the president took questions before an audience of 250 young people from diverse backgrounds. There were also an untold number of young people watching on television, via live stream over the Internet, or keeping up with the discussion on Twitter. The president’s hope in reaching out is that young voters will show up on Election Day, and choose between the candidates, hopefully casting a vote for the embattled Democrats.

Given the hardships faced by young African-Americans including near 50 percent teen unemployment, many political observers are unsure if young black voters will be willing to help Democrats hold onto control of Congress.

A new Pew Research poll says that 27 percent of young voters who identify as a Democrat have given a significant amount of thought to this year’s midterm election, down 20 points from the last midterm election four years ago.  (Read the full article)