MB Civic

By Catherine Rampell | Sunday, March 30, 2008 | The Washington Post

“…Here’s my pet theory on why Obama energizes young voters. Other efforts to increase youth turnout have emphasized destruction of the status quo, but because they are “nonpartisan” they can’t promote any alternative to root for. In contrast, Obama has given youths a team to join. In making his appeal to young people — and few politicians have so directly and repeatedly addressed youth issues, such as college tuition — he uses the first-person plural. Just as he preaches racial unity, so too does he seem to advocate age-based reconciliation, rather than a generational culture war young people know they can’t win.

Obama emphasizes that political engagement is about being part of something bigger than oneself, not rebelling against that something bigger. He does not try to make voting individualistic, retaliatory or “bad-ass.” Voting, like political engagement, is what it is: decent and well-mannered. Obama may portray himself as an outsider, but he wants to change things the old-fashioned way — through idealism and authenticity, not rock-and-roll and cynicism. In other words, he’s made voting hip by being square….”…BS

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032801857_pf.html