October 20, 2008

POLITICS: Youth Vote 2008

The 2008 election has been shaped to be a benchmark in American history no matter who becomes president. News reports have indicated Obama having slight leads, while the same poles also show Obama has over a twenty point lead on McCain for voters under 30.

Historically, the youth vote has been more liberal. At the same time it has been weaker due to poor attendance on election day. I began to think how my political views, which are liberal were formed.

To keep a long story short, I didn't really know what politics were until my freshman year of high school. I remember the days of the 2000 election at Springdale Elementary, talking about Bush and Gore, but I was always ignorant to politics.

As a person who became drawn into politics during the Bush administration, I was exposed to many ups and downs. I would've aligned myself more with the GOP earlier on, when patriotism was high and we were out to fight terrorism (I was also very ignorant to the price of war, and what it means to lose a soldier).

However, as I became more aware and read into politics, I found myself to agree with the more liberal stances. I couldn't agree with Bush or many of the GOP's ideals. I tell this story not to bore you with my views, but to show why many people (especially young voters) will vote for Obama this year.

Americans are fed up with Bush, with the war, with dumb policy making, with the game of politics and ultimately with Washington. Politics can always be described as the lesser of two evils, but I think America is starting to align themselves with a fresh face that wants us out of Iraq.


1 comment:

jim said...

It does take some time to make an informed decision. Taxes, war, abortion, limited government or big government, energy, economy, foreign affairs, immigration, health care are just some of the major issues. The GOP party has gotten lost in unimportant issues in this race. Do any of us care that Obama attended a dinner with Ayers, or do we think Obama doesn't put country first, or democrats are weak for talking with our enemies. All of these stances are far right in the party. Turn back to substantive issues of taxes, economy, limited government, and some youth may listen again.