Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Youth vote critical, Obama camp says
By Teresa Lostroh
Daily Nebraskan, U. Nebraska
October 07, 2008

Young people are often seen as politically apathetic, but issues like the ailing job market and the energy crisis may lure more college-age voters to the polls Nov. 4.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 44 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds who were not registered to vote in the 2004 presidential election neglected to do so because they were "not interested in the election or not involved in politics."

This year may be different.

"What we saw through the caucus process is a virtually unprecedented level of engagement of young people," said Josh Earnest, a communications director for the Barack Obama campaign. "In just about every state, we saw record levels of participation."

On Saturday, Earnest and Obama stressed the issues at hand and the importance of the student vote during a telephone conference with college media outlets from across the country.

Earnest highlighted the civil turmoil in Darfur, global warming, rising education costs, renewable energy and the war on terror as issues young people will consider before casting their votes.

Earnest said Obama will increase America's use of biofuels and expand the Federal Pell Grant Program.

Obama echoed many of Earnest's comments as he addressed the 75 college journalists.

He also spoke about his plan to reward public service with a $4,000 tax credit and the potential for job growth in the energy business. Obama said the energy sector can create more than 5 million jobs through using more solar wind and biofuels and creating more energy-efficient cars and buildings. As president, he said would invest $150 billion to the cause over 10 years.

"Young voters are going to make the difference," Obama said. "If young voters turn out at the levels they can turn out, it could end up being the decisive voting block in this election."

On the other side of the ticket, Tom Kise, a spokesman for Sen. John McCain, wouldn't speculate if young voters will flock to polls in record numbers on Election Day, nor did he say the McCain camp is specifically targeting a younger demographic.

"We're going to have to wait and see," Kise said. "We're going to run this campaign by reaching out to voters from 18 to 110."

However, Kise did mention the job market and energy crisis as important issues for college-age constituents.

McCain will call for increased use of nuclear, solar and hydroelectric power, as well as the development of clean coal technologies, which will create new jobs.

Simplifying tax benefits and federal financial aid are also on McCain's to-do list.

"He is a maverick," Kise said of the Arizona senator. "He's going to buck the system to do what is best for his country because that's where his priority lies."

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