THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2011
POLITICS
PAGE 3A
Excitement subsides for Obama campaign
DAVID SCOTT
dscott@kansan.com
Millennial voters—an important age demographic of 18 to 29 year olds that helped the president win office in the last election—are not as excited for Obama as they were in 2008, according to a Nov. 3 survey from the Pew Research Center.
"Nothing is really different. People in my generation wanted Obama to represent the middle class and he hasn't," said Caleb Wilson, a junior from Winfield.
Wilson said that many young voters blindly followed the media's lead in their love for Obama. He said that many students his age have come to the stark realization that Obama is just like all the other politicians in Washington, D.C.
"We're not stupid. We see that," he said. "We want someone different from the status quo."
Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute for Politics, said Obama in 2008 reminded many students of their favorite professors, someone who was extraoradinarily smart,
well spoken and orientated toward bipartisanship in fixing problems in Washington.
"Things really haven't changed in Washington, D.C." Lacy said. "We can debate whether that's the Democrats' or Republicans' fault, but typically the person in charge gets blamed for that."
work. She thinks that millennial voters were blinded by Obama's campaign.
However, Obama didn't mesmerize all young voters three years ago. Jordan Gripe, a senior from Shawnee, said she saw through Obama's hype and didn't believe his economic ideas would
"A lot of people were definitely excited about him. I attribute that to that whole idea of 'Yes We Can,'" she said. "People rallied around the idea of 'change' because that's what our generation was really excited about, even if they don't know what that change would be. The excitement didn't stem from political knowledge."
Brenen Zey, a junior from Overland Park, agreed that the excitement of young voters for Obama has died down, but she thinks that's because people are expecting too much, too soon. She blames a stubborn economy that has been very hard to turn around.
"Change takes time. It's not instant. We were excited but it's taking a little longer than some would like," she said. "The economy being what it is has dampened
BRENEN ZEY
Overland Park junior
a lot of people's excitement."
A soft economy and lack of enthusiasm of young voters may spell 'four and done' for Obama. Lacy sees striking similarities
between Obama and President Ronald Reagan. Both presidents drummed up great support from younger voters and both candidates faced bad economies when the first won office. In 1981, Lacy said Reagan faced more than 9 percent unemployment, but he was able to ride a 6 percent growth in the economy in 1982 that helped him win re-election in 1984 with a 49-state landslide.
Economists predict next year's economic growth to be at 3 percent, which might not be good
OBAMA'S SUPPORT
OVER YEARS
President Obama's approval has dropped uniformly across age groups, according to a November 3, 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center. But some experts say the drop among young voters may hurt him the most.
Support for Obama among voters age 18-29: 2008:66% November 2011:62%
Support for Obama among voters age 65 and older:
2008: 45%
November 2011:42%
SOURCE:
PEW RESEARCH CENTERO
Lacy said the Obama has a couple of issues that will make his bid for re-election difficult. One, the 16-point margin among young voters he holds over Mitt Romney will shrink as the presidential election approaches. Two, young voters are not predicted to participate to the same degree in 2012 as they did in 2008.
"It's going to be a very tough reelection campaign. It's going to be a very ugly campaign,' Lacy said. "The president is going to essentially depict his opponent as not qualified or not prepared to be president."
enough to win, Lacy said.
Edited by Rachel Schultz
REGION
Earthquakes a chance to prepare for damage
When it comes to the threat of damage and chaos from disasters in Kansas, earthquakes rank nearly at the bottom of the state's list of concerns.
Earthquakes rank 21st out of 22 potential hazards listed in the official state response plan by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management. Only fog is a lower threat than earthquakes, though the misty
The recent spate of earthquakes in Oklahoma was felt throughout southern Kansas and as far north as the Kansas City metro area with little or no damage reported.
shrouds are more frequently found in Kansas.
by strong seismic activity.
Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, state adjutant general, said the state's frequent tornadoes and flooding — the top two hazards in the state — give Kansas ample opportunity to train, equip and plan for the types of damage and injuries that could be caused
According to the state response plan, Kansas ranks 45th among states in the amount of damage caused by earthquakes each year, with the Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan area ranking 35th among 35 major metro areas in the country.
"Many of the functions are the same," Tafanelli said. "There's no prevention to it."
Associated Press
STATE
Fire destroys apartment complex in Manhattan
Investigators say a fire that destroyed a Manhattan apartment complex under construction was intentionally set.
Officials investigating the Nov. 6 blaze at the 96-unit Strasser Village Apartments said the fire appears to
have been started in the northern section of the complex, which was scheduled to open next fall. The luxury complex had been valued at $7 million.
Investigators for the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Riley County Police Department said in a release that damage estimates from the fire
could exceed $2 million. The complex is located near a retail development, where the roofs of several stores were damaged by flaming debris.
Manhattan Fire Chief Jerry Snyder said the fire caused the largest dollar loss in Manhattan history.
Associated Press
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