Young People Prefer Obama to Romney

CNN just provided its contribution to the heady game of pre-election polls for the 2012 American presidential race: 66 percent of people under the age of 30 have a favorable opinion of Barack Obama, while their approval ratings for Mitt Romney have plateaued at 40 percent. Sixty percent of poll-takers feel that Obama has the right personality and leadership qualities, while 51 percent feel the same about Romney. The former governor of Massachusetts is burdened with his poor image as governor; he ended his term with a 37% approval rating, not to mention his other blunders and his history with Bain Capital.

According to Gallup, 60 percent of young people are registered and 56 percent plan to vote. Sixty-four percent say they will vote for Obama, which is not very far from their vote in 2008 (66 percent). Even though they represent less than 50 percent of Americans who approve of his political actions, they represent 48 percent of Americans who want him to be re-elected. And it’s reasonable to assume that they agree with his positions on social issues that are important to them: student loans, health care, abortion related health care coverage and the Sandra Fluke controversy, gay marriage, ending anti-gay segregation in the armed forces and bringing the troops back from Iraq. Although the job situation and the weakness of the economy are still huge problems (only 69,000 jobs added this past month), they see Obama struggling for the cause. If young people are less pleased with Romney, the casual and outrageous suggestions he made to them in Ohio are not going to change their minds. Romney recommended that students wanting to start their own businesses should take risks and “borrow money if you have to from your parents”(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/27/mitt-romney-students-otterbein-university-borrow-money_n_1460097.html)! Not everyone has rich parents like Romney.