President Obama looks to reenergize youth vote, get late Democratic surge

[cal04]

President Obama looks to reenergize youth vote, get late Democratic surge for midterms
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/26/AR2010092603356.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2010092603336

President Obama will swoop into the heartland this week in a high-stakes bid to boost enthusiasm for Democrats by reigniting the coalition of young and minority voters who were critical to his success two years ago.

With polls showing independent voters swinging toward Republicans in Wisconsin and the nation's other battlegrounds, Democrats are turning elsewhere to make up ground. So on Tuesday in Madison, Obama will stage the first in a series of rallies on college campuses designed to persuade what some call his "surge" voters - the roughly 15 million Americans who voted for the first time in 2008 - to return to the polls this fall.

(snip)
Democrats hope Tuesday's rally could provide a needed jump-start.

The event, featuring singer-songwriter Ben Harper, will be simulcast on more than 200 other campuses and be amplified by similar youth-oriented events in other states, featuring surrogates including Vice President Biden.

(snip)
On the campaign stump, Feingold has been assailing what he calls the "phony enthusiasm gap." He says Democratic enthusiasm is higher than what public polls are capturing, citing the $435,000 his campaign raised in 24 hours this month in what he calls a "cheddar bomb."

[Clio the Leo]

1. cheddar bomb ...... cute. nt

[Odin2005]

2. why should we support you after you stabbed us in the back, Mr. President?

[young but wise]

3. Who is this we?

I support him, and I don't feel like he stabbed me in the back.

[ClarkUSA]

5. ROFL! So now you're the spokesperson for millions? Well, you don't speak for me or for my friends.

Of course, all of us supported Obama from the beginning (and still do) unlike some people who never liked him in the first place (and still don't).

[Odin2005]

8. I was an enthusiastic Obama supporter very early on.

In fact, I was an Obama supporter before being an Obama supporter was cool. Look back during the 08 primaries. Oh, heck, I was convinced he was gonna be president after his speech in 2004.

Then he started acting like Repuke-Lite after he got elected. So very disappointed, should have listed back when we were being warned after the Donnie McClurkin incident, but I didn't listen.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[still_one]

6. If you believe that there really isn't any difference between republicans and Democrats, then you

are correct, and nothing anyone says will change your mind

However, if that isn't the case, then you should vote, not for Obama, but so the repukes don't control Congress

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[still_one]

11. Well, then you shouldn't vote for Democrats or repukes in the next election if you believe that

[Webster Green]

12. Thanks for the advice.

I've always voted Democratic, or Green Party.

Obama's goons busting anti-war activists may have been the final straw for me. I mean, really...WTF?!

[still_one]

16. I will vote Democratic, but it is not because I am thrilled with the Democrats it is because I feel

that the repukes are far more dangerous, and much worse

Am I happy to make that kind of choice, of course not, and the only way that will change is to start running progressives for Congress, however, that will not be easy since the country is more conservative than it has been in years

[impik]

14. That back stabbing more progressive resident in 50 years.

[andym]

15. As someone who has strong liberal/progessive beliefs, I do not believe the President has stabbed us

in the back. I do think he has been less bold than he might have been, and made a big mistake in keeping Bernanke on. But, more importantly, he has begun the critical process of taking back the idea that "government is the problem" that has plagued this country since Reagan's day. He has expanded the role of government even more than I expected given the number of moderate and conservative Democrats who represent moderate and conservative citizens. He also has made the first real move since the early 70s to expand the social safety net and increase "equality" with HCR, which counters the large move toward "freedom" (freedom from corporate regulation for example) that has dominated since Reagan.

For progressivism and liberalism to succeed, the idea of a benevolent, working federal government and the importance of balancing equality and freedom need to be mainstream values of the majority. Unfortunately, the Reagan revolution had marginalized these values, making strong progressive legislative advances impractical for years. The success or failure of the economy in the next two years will determine the fate of liberalism in the USA for at least the next decade, because many people will project the health of the economy onto the general policy ideas of the Obama administration.

[Cha]

4. Love the President..he gets a lot of support from my family & friends..

:fistbump: He's done an amazing job in spite of all the lies and hate swirling around him.

[southmost]

7. gladly supporting the Dems every election

having the luxury of living in an indigo blue district, lets me donate what I can to candidates in tight races like Russ Feingold,


I pretty much got what I expected from Obama's presidency (never considered him a liberal, but of course I hoped for more and faster,)

[budkin]

13. Good strategy.