Obama Romances the Young

The president has to win back alienated American youth

In the 2008 elections, they were Obama’s greatest supporters and fans: the “digital natives.” They are that generation that grew up when digital technologies like the computer, the Internet, cell phones and MP3 players became widely available. In 2008, the “digital natives” voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama.

A president who listens to Def Jam’s rapper Jay-Z on his iPod, who wants to be a Facebook friend and is still refreshing, not cynical and idealistic — this was a guy they wanted in the White House.

But even President Obama had to realize that Max Weber’s dictum that politics is like vigorous drilling into hardwood boards is still a valid observation. Still, being a carpenter is far too mundane a job for a messiah.

So it wasn’t just a coincidence that Obama kicked off this campaign for the presidency with a visit to the Palo Alto headquarters of the Facebook social network. That gained him entry into the living rooms of America’s twenty-somethings, where he could begin rekindling the cooling romance he once had with young America.

During his speech, Obama mentioned the price billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (annual income around $13.5 billion*) would have to pay to help erase the U.S. budget deficit: He and other wealthy people would have to pay more in taxes. Zuckerberg reacted with equanimity, saying, “I’m cool with that.”

Zuckerberg’s young fans probably are, too.

*Editor’s note: $13.5 billion is Zuckerberg’s net worth.