Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
From rural schools to the IMU and, of course, Hamburg Inn, candidates, their spous- After the caucus, candidate visits slowed as the intra-party battle swept through
shouldn’t close that voting ‘It’s … an
curtain, glance down at
es, and their emissaries tromped through Iowa in the months before the caucuses Jan. other states. By late summer, McCain and Obama solidified their positions as their par- your ballot, and say, “Now opportunity
3 — 16 days earlier than in 2004. ties’ nominees, and people focused on the next big decision of the race: who would be what the hell is judicial
As the first measure of support of who would be the best next president, the event was No. 2. Despite his quick exit following the Iowa caucuses, Biden was chosen by Obama — retention?”
for all
(as it has largely been since 1972) viewed as an important test for viability. Caucus-goers even though many thought Obama might pair with Rodham Clinton and make an even You need to know what students to
broke turnout records, choosing Obama on the Democratic side, who beat Edwards and more unprecedented ticket. Instead, he chose a man known for his foreign-policy knack. your vote means.
Rodham Clinton — who came in a surprising third. The GOP results were more unexpect- McCain made a more unusual selection for his running mate: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. One hilarious YouTube
begin a
ed, with Mike Huckabee winning by 10 percentage points over second-place Romney and
23 points ahead of McCain, who spent little time in the state and nabbed fourth.
Palin, who has spent a comparatively short time in politics, exudes the anti-Washington,
the anti-political establishment as a moose hunter with solidly conservative positions.
video features a group of life long
people, parading around
à la eHarmony testimo- habit of
MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL YOUNG AND POLITICALLY ACTIVE nial saying, why they voting in all
vote.
“I vote for the halibut … elections.’
because I’m a fisherman,” Sally Mason
one guy says. UI president
Another woman says, “I
vote because I have an
obsessive compulsive dis-
order that can only be sat-
isfied by punching tiny
holes in paper.”
“I want a president that
I can freebase a little
cocaine with,” chimes in
another guy.
The message? ‘Voting is a
“Please vote … it’s the
only legal way to cancel
privilege as
Of course, all these candidate actions are analyzed and parsed for meaning. It’s In January, in addition to pronouncing Obama and Huckabee the caucus winners, another
a realm in which the UI’s political-science department is prominent. With the clout type of headline stood out: the number of young people who participated in the selection. out your neighbors.” Americans we
of the state’s first-in-the-nation status, the department produces many metrics That’s a great message.
that capture the pulse of the nation, such as the Hawkeye Poll.
Youth participation — 17- to 29-year-olds — in the caucuses more than tripled this
year over 2004, with 65,230 young people attending. While that trend followed the I’m from Oxford, Miss. enjoy. I hope
During the election cycle, the poll captures opinions about who is pulling ahead larger trend of overall increases in voter turnout — young people only made up about 1 (home to the only college people don’t
to the effect a voter’s preferred news medium has on her or his perception of a percent more of caucus-goers than they did in 2004 — many are focusing on what effect newspaper editorial board
candidate’s faith. Elsewhere at the UI, the Tippie College of Business administers youth will have on the election. that, as of Oct. 30, had take these
the renowned Iowa Electronic Market, in which traders make real-money bets on And the UI is a stronghold for the youth-vote movement. This year, more than 7,000 endorsed McCain). special things
the outcome of the election. With this election cycle, more than many in the past, voters between 18 and 24 have requested an early ballot in Johnson County — the largest Being a university town,
one main theme has been persistent through the political analyses: the youth. of any age category (early voting, overall, is also up). Oxford has liberal leanings for granted.’
in, let’s face it, a state that Kirk Ferentz
can get so red it sometimes football coach
bleeds all over the rest of
IT’S HERE
ease? Was it that ubiqui-
tous hope for change?
I’m putting my money it
was a mixture of civic duty ‘If you don’t
and pride. Enfranchisement
is exhilarating.
vote, don’t
So Tuesday is the day. The 2008 I know you know that. complain.
During the Iowa caucus-
election will come to an end as voters es this January, youth par- Democracy
make one of the most highly anticipated ticipation more than depends
tripled. That’s 65,000 of
choices in recent years. Weaving you 17- to 29-year-olds on the
through a hodgepodge of analyses,
who came out in the bitter participation
Iowa winter.
hypotheses, and anticipation is still And the months since of our
then have been long and citizens.’
the ultimate uncertainty: WHO’S exhausting. And I’m as
Regenia Bailey
relieved as most of you
TAKING WASHINGTON NEXT? probably are that this elec- Iowa City mayor
tion business is almost
over.
But suck it up for one more day.
Put on your Google goggles, (or visit dai-
lyiowan.com’s Election Watch site), read up on
the candidates, and, you know. Vote.
Source: Daily Iowan archives, news reports, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement