Could A "Hidden" Youth Vote Propel Obama?

[RamboLiberal]

Last week, Michelle Obama, the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, told a group of Iowans that their state "will make the difference" in her husband's presidential bid. "If Barack doesn't win Iowa," she suggested, "it's just a dream."

Obama is in a dogfight in the Hawkeye state: Polls show him in a tight, three-way contest there with Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards among Democratic voters. His campaign manager, David Plouffe, has argued that the senator is in better shape than the polls suggest, however. That's thanks to a "hidden vote" from young voters, who the campaign argues are often missed in traditional surveys.

-----

The majority of those who do show are usually over the age of 55, according to veteran Iowa pollster Ann Selzer. And that doesn't work in Obama's favor, says Steve McMahon, media advisor for Howard Dean in 2004. Dean, like Obama, had an early following among young voters. He led in many polls going into the caucuses, only to finish a weak third.

"Iowa is not exactly designed for a guy like Barack Obama or Howard Dean," says McMahon. "The voters tend to be older, less well educated, and less affluent generally than primary voters in larger states."

Obama's message of change, Goldford says, "plays into the relatively cynical attitude of young voters." To reap the rewards of that appeal, he needs to convince those voters to register as Democrats and show up at the caucuses. Since the total number of voters is relatively small -- in 2004, about 100,000 Iowans participated in the Democratic caucuses -- it doesn't take a huge number of new supporters to swing the vote in a candidate's favor.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/04/politics/main3329322.shtml

[The Wielding Truth]

1. Could a hidden "common sense" vote inaugurate Kucinich?

That is what I would hope for. Obama has what behind him? We know how Hillary votes. Biden has been slugging along without a hit record and Edwards is great, but he's been surfing and floating where he should be punching and yelling.

Kucinich and Feingold have held on to their souls and their integrity and I would hope that anyone who sees an honorable democratic future for this Country will support Kucinich and work for Peace.