Not As Good As He Once Was

Enthusiasm For Obama Among Young Voters Is “Lurching Along”

OBAMA’S APPROVAL RATING IS DROPPING AMONG YOUNG AMERICANS AMID A “BLEAK EMPLOYMENT PICTURE”

Under Obama, Youth Voters Are “Burdened By A Bleak Employment Picture, High Gas Prices And Student Loan Debt.” “Once thought to be solidly behind President Barack Obama, younger voters burdened by a bleak employment picture, high gas prices and student loan debt are being aggressively wooed by the Democrat and his likely Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.” (Philip Elliott, “Once Obama’s, Younger Voters In Play This Election,” The Associated Press, 4/25/12)

Obama’s Approval Rating Among Youth Voters Dropped 18 Percentage Points Since 2009. “Despite attempts to relate to college audiences by opening up about his and his wife’s experiences with student loans, polling suggests Obama’s job approval rating among these voters has declined. The 75 percent rating he enjoyed in 2009, the year he took office, has dropped to 57 percent, according to Gallup.” (Philip Elliott, “Once Obama’s, Younger Voters In Play This Election,” The Associated Press, 4/25/12)

• Obama’s “34-Point Advantage” Amongst Young Voters From 2008 Has Been Cut To Just “12 Points Among Those Ages 18-24” Today. “In 2008, Obama had a 34-point advantage over Republican Sen. John McCain among voters under age 30. He won about two-thirds of the vote in that age group.But a new Harvard poll suggests the president may face a harder sales job with younger voters this time around. Obama led Romney by 12 points among those ages 18-24, according to the survey. Among those in the 25-29 age group, Obama held a 23-point advantage.” (Philip Elliott, “Once Obama’s, Younger Voters In Play This Election,” The Associated Press, 4/25/12)

IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT OBAMA IS FACING A “ GENERAL LACK OF ENTHUSIASM”

Obama’s Problem Is “The General Lack Of Enthusiasm, Especially Among Younger Voters.” “Obama’s Achilles Tarheel is the general lack of enthusiasm, especially among younger voters, that threatens to reverse his historic win in 2008, depriving him of a key part of his own map and imperiling his party’s tenuous foothold in the upper South.” (Glenn Thrush, Donovan Slack, “For President Obama, Carolina No Longer So Sweet,” Politico, 4/24/12)

Obama Facing “Double-Barreled Challenge” Energizing College Students And Former College Students. “But it’s a double-barreled challenge: energize today’s college students, only a few of whom voted in 2008, and re-energize the former college students who helped put Obama into the White House but now face a get-less-than-you-dreamed job market and heavy student loan debt. The dichotomy is visible in the Harvard poll, which showed Obama’s lead is 23 percentage points for likely voters age 25 to 29 but only 12 points for those under 24.” (John Frank, “Youth Vote Still Favors Obama, But Enthusiasm Is Waning,” The News & Observer, 4/25/12)

North Carolina

Obama Spoke To A Crowd Of 8,000 On The UNC-Chapel Hill Campus. “Once Obama took the stage, the capacity crowd of 8,000 cheered loudly, but it didn’t compare to his appearance on campus four year ago before a much larger crowd.”(John Frank, “Youth Vote Still Favors Obama, But Enthusiasm Is Waning,” The News & Observer, 4/25/12)

• Obama Spoke To A Crowd Of 18,000 At The Campus In 2008. “Obama visited the UNC-Chapel Hill campus four years ago this week as he battled Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. He spoke to 18,000 at the Dean Dome, home to the men’s basketball team, a far larger crowd than in Carmichael on Tuesday. Jacobs called it a ‘very serious sign of decreased excitement’ but Obama supporters point to differences in the circumstances.” (John Frank, “Youth Vote Still Favors Obama, But Enthusiasm Is Waning,” The News & Observer, 4/25/12)

North Carolina Voter Registration Data “Showed About 48,500 Fewer Voters Aged 18-25 Compared To November 2008.” “The 2008 exit polls indicated Obama took 66 percent of the under-30 national vote. But the voter landscape in North Carolina is changing. An analysis of state voter registration data from November 2011, showed about 48,500 fewer voters aged 18-25 compared to November 2008, according to a Tufts University report. Obama’s margin of victory in the state is a scant 14,177, and about 80 percent of those lost young voters were registered Democrats.” (John Frank, “Youth Vote Still Favors Obama, But Enthusiasm Is Waning,” The News & Observer, 4/25/12)

Obama Supporter, Durham Mayor William Bell: “The Biggest Challenge He Faces Is The Fact That It’s Not Like The First Time.” “‘The biggest challenge he faces is the fact that it’s not like the first time, in the sense that everybody was jumping on board [in 2008], it was an opportunity to do something new, to elect the first African-American president,’ says Durham Mayor William Bell, an Obama supporter who will be on the tarmac to greet the president when Air Force One lands.” (Glenn Thrush, Donovan Slack, “For President Obama, Carolina No Longer So Sweet,” Politico, 4/24/12)

• The Number Of Young Democrats Registered To Vote In North Carolina Has Decreased By 40,000, “Nearly Three Times Obama’s [2008] Victory Margin.”“But for once, demographics aren’t on Obama’s side. The number of young Democrats registered to vote in the state has shrunk by nearly three times Obama’s victory margin; 40,000 of them have fallen off state voter rolls in the state since 2008, a Tufts University study in December found.” (Glenn Thrush, Donovan Slack, “For President Obama, Carolina No Longer So Sweet,” Politico, 4/24/12)

UNC-Chapel Hill Students: Obama’s “Star Quality” Has “Fizzled” From 2008. “As they waited for President Barack Obama to speak, Bridget Walsh and Lila Fleishman struggled to find the right word to describe the difference in his first campaign and now four years later. The UNC-Chapel Hill freshmen were too young to vote in 2008, but they were big Obama supporters, magnetized they say by his star quality. ‘Since 2008, I think you can really say it’s …’ Walsh started, pausing to think. ‘Fizzled,’ Fleishman inserted. ‘Yes, since 2008, I think you can really say a lot of it’s fizzled,’ Walsh concluded.” (John Frank, “Youth Vote Still Favors Obama, But Enthusiasm Is Waning,” The News & Observer, 4/25/12)

UNC Student Damon Neanover: Enthusiasm For Obama Has “Definitely Died Down A Little Bit.” “Damon Neanover, 22, was a freshmen in 2008. ‘It was a big moment at UNC. The campus went crazy for (Obama),’ he recalled. The political science major from Jacksonville said he remembers students driving rickshaws offering rides to early voting stations and the incessant campaign volunteers working to win voters in The Pit at the center of campus. The enthusiasm has ‘definitely died down a little bit,’ said Neanover, a 2008 Obama voter. ‘Initially, he had an aura about him that collectively gathered people.'” (John Frank, “Youth Vote Still Favors Obama, But Enthusiasm Is Waning,” The News & Observer, 4/25/12)

Colorado

The Enthusiasm Among College Students In Denver For Obama’s Reelection Campaign “Is Lurching Along.” “When then-junior Sen. Barack Obama came to the University of Denver in 2008, the Democratic presidential hopeful was greeted by long lines and a crowd full of youthful enthusiasm. And while his return to the state for tonight’s appearance at the University of Colorado at Boulder more than four years later has produced similarly long waits for tickets, the other response – enthusiasm – is lurching along.” (Kristen Leigh Parker, “Anticipation To Hear Obama Great, But Support Not As Evident As In 2008,”Denver Post, 4/24/12)

Political Science Professor At Colorado University Kenneth Bickers: “There Doesn’t Seem To Be The Same Sort Of Visual Excitement As You Walk Across Campus,” As There Was In The 2008 Election. “‘What I hear from students is not about student loans but anxiety about jobs,’ said Kenneth Bickers, a political science professor at CU. ‘There are just a lot fewer stickers on clothing, computers and backpacks. There doesn’t seem to be the same sort of visual excitement as you walk across campus.'” (Kristen Leigh Parker, “Anticipation To Hear Obama Great, But Support Not As Evident As In 2008,” Denver Post, 4/24/12)

Political Analyst Eric Sondermann: “You Can Only Run On Hope And Change Once.”“You dial the clock back four years and college campuses were on fire with Obama fever in April ’08,’ said Eric Sondermann, an independent political analyst. ‘I think reigniting it is going to be a challenge at best. You can only run on hope and change once, and you can only be a political virgin once.'” (Kristen Leigh Parker, “Anticipation To Hear Obama Great, But Support Not As Evident As In 2008,” Denver Post, 4/24/12)

• Sondermann: The Students “Have Gone Back To Their Disillusionment.” “‘It’s not like they’ve left Obama and gone to another candidate,’ Sondermann said. ‘They’ve just gone back to their disillusionment.'” (Kristen Leigh Parker, “Anticipation To Hear Obama Great, But Support Not As Evident As In 2008,” Denver Post, 4/24/12)

20-Year-Old Nolen Pulliam: “ I Haven’t Hated What He’s Done, But I Haven’t Loved It Either.” “‘I haven’t hated what he’s done, but I haven’t loved it either,’ said 20-year-old Nolen Pulliam.” (Kristen Leigh Parker, “Anticipation To Hear Obama Great, But Support Not As Evident As In 2008,” Denver Post, 4/24/12)

Iowa

The University Of Iowa Provost Emailed Students To Tell Them Tickets Were Still Available For Obama’s Speech. “There are still tickets available for President Obama’s speech at the University of Iowa on Wednesday, according to a campus-wide email from UI Provost P. Barry Butler. Tickets, which are free, will be available on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 11:30 a.m. today at the University Box Office in the Iowa Memorial Union. Tickets must be picked up in person and only one ticket per person is allowed. Obama will speak at the Field House, 225 South Grand Ave. The event will begin around 1 p.m., and doors open at 10 a.m.” (“Tickets Still Available For Obama Speech,” Iowa Press-Citizen, 4/24/12)

• The Field House Seats Just 1,500, Smaller Than The 15,500-Seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “UI Field House North Gym 225 South Grand Ave. Iowa City, IA 52242 The Field House is at the southern end of Iowa’s physical plant. It is equipped with unique resi and foam pits, and portable bleachers for meets and clinics. The facility has a capacity of 1,500 for competitions. The coaches’ offices are also located in the Field House. The Hawkeyes also host major competitions in the 15,500-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena, located approximately one-quarter mile northwest of the Field House.” ( Hawkeye Sports, Accessed 4/24/12)