Wake ‘Em Up

“Will the young and hopeful abandon the political playing field to older voters who are angry? That is the quiet crisis confronting President Obama and the Democrats. Left unattended, it could become a formidable obstacle for them in next year’s midterm elections,” says E.J Dionne Jr, columnist for The Washington Post. He reckons the “sour mood” of the nation’s politics may further detract the young from feeling connected with politics. He quotes Celinda Lake, a Democratic potter, as saying: “When Republican voters and older voters get angry, they vote. But, when younger voters get angry they stay at home.” He says that despite young voters handing Obama a Democratic victory by turning up to vote in droves, the Democrats are “petrified” that young people will hand the torch back to the Republicans in 2010 through inaction. In other words: “The old politics of ignoring the young is simply not an option”.