I had an interesting discussion with someone who is a strong supporter of Barack Obama, not surprising of course considering that we are in Denver in the midst of the Democratic National Convention. This individual was a younger voter, which is a group that Obama has garnered a lot of support from, and expressed the belief that under Obama’s leadership “not only the nation but the entire world would be a better place.” Specifically, he argued that Obama would get us out of the war, raise taxes on the rich, provide everyone health care, and provide affordable tuition costs so people could obtain a college degree. When pressed as to how he would get this accomplished, he simply stated that Obama could get it done through the sheer force of his popularity and charisma.
This is not an uncommon conversation to find yourself in here in Denver, and it expresses a belief about Obama that many of his younger supporters share. The problem with this belief is the fact that it takes a different set of characteristics to govern that it does to win an election. Personality and charm often play very well in elections; however, I guarantee you that Mitch McConnell and the Republicans in the House and Senate will not be influenced in the least by how charismatic a potential President Obama is, and they will not simply go along with the policies Obama endorses. If elected, Obama will certainly have to compromise on a number of issues, which may appear to many of his younger supporters as Obama compromising on his ideals. This could have detrimental effects, because one of the reasons so many young people support him is because they feel he is a different kind of candidate. If he ultimately becomes the same type of leader we have always had, it could cause disenchantment among many of the “new voters” who have got involved in the process this election cycle. Were he to win, it will be interesting to see if these new voters who are suddenly so enthused about politics would be able to come to terms with the differences between Obama as candidate and Obama as president.
1 comment:
There is nothing like the innocence of youth! You are right that it takes more than one person to make a change in the government, the President cannot do it him/herself but I think this generation is a lot more informed irt how things work in Congress. I think the democrats in Congress realize that if they do not get on Obama's wagon and work towards reaching his goals, the failures of the upcoming term will be on them and not on the republicans. I do hear more rumbling from the masses that they expect a change in Congress (ditch Mitch). This young generation has a lot going for it and I have a lot of hope and support for them especially since my son is one of them!
Post a Comment