Too Good to be True?

Posts By: Brandon Kamin, Roger Lee, & David Yourgrau

Do college students truly understand the politics that separate Obama and Clinton? Or has Obama been able to gain the support of college students simply on personal appeal?

Pennsylvania college students will especially play a vital role in determining the Democratic Party’s candidate at the Pennsylvania Primary on April 22, 2008. A recent poll taken in December 2007 shows that 43% of college students support Senator Barack Obama of Illinois while only 23% support Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. While many analysts and political scientists are unable to justify and explain the large discrepancy in support, Bill Woodman a professor of sociology at Iowa State University told The Politico that he believes that students have grown weary of the longtime political actors. “They seem more interested in character, a fresh view of the future… Many students feel that Hillary Clinton is not a change. She may be a woman but she is not a fresh face.” It is that inherent need for change that has allowed Obama to gain so much support from college students.

Although it would be a massive generalization to equate this attitude to all college students who support Obama, it is very prevalent trend. Tony Aquilino a junior at Ursinus College, who plans on voting for Obama, said that “no basis for this vote but from what I remember I heard I liked. Plus I’ve heard he’s good”. Other students seem to be portraying similar naïveté. As one student who requested to remain nameless said when asked about why he likes Obama more than Hillary, “He looks younger and his speeches aren’t traditional. Plus he acts like he wants us involved. I don’t really get that feeling from her”.

There clearly is a non-political element of appeal for Obama and it may just be the youth’s lack of understanding towards politics that helps Obama garner so much support from them. As Tuggelin Yourgrau president of the film company Powderhouse Productions said “Obama represents a change against the established way of doing things…youth voters are attracted to candidates who shake up the establishment. He is especially going to attract many young people who are bright-eyed idealists. They see Hillary as too much of a power person. She’s been around too long”.

Politicians, such as Obama who are labeled as idealists are often accused of following policies that are in themselves good ideas but are politically unrealistic. College students, who are often uneducated in politics are more attached to the ideas and principles that Obama preaches rather than their actually practicality. As one blogger stated, “Part of Obama's appeal is a promise to transcend the conflicts which roil American politics, but this actually suggests a disturbing naiveté”. While this blogger obviously sees fault with college students’ endorsement of Obama’s idealistic policies, Yourgrau thinks otherwise. “I love it that college students are embracing idealistic ideas. College students are almost always the ones to expand the lines of social and political possibilities that the old time politicians have drawn”.