Economy Rattles Young Voters; Good for Obama?

Economic fears have officially trickled down to the millennial generation, according to a study conducted by MTV Networks, Peter D. Hart Research Associates, and MacLachlan & Associates.

The "Election Effect" poll, which was released at MTV headquarters this morning, found that 41 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds ranked the economy as their top concern as Election Day rolls around. Also their second and third concerns.

When the 1,245 voters polled were asked what they want the new administration to fix first, the top three answers were the "the economic mess," "jobs moving out of the U.S.," and "difficulty finding a job."

Distantly trailing those responses were worries over global warming, immigration and finding Osama bin Laden.

"Up until 10 days ago, we were adrift in an issues mix," said Republican strategist Alex Vogel, a panelist at the breakfast where MTV released the results. "Now, there is a laser beam focus on [economic] issues. And people are just freaking out."

One thing that young people aren't freaking out over? Ad nauseum campaign volleys -- 3 a.m. phone call ads, "community organizer" cracks, town-of-9,000 references -- about how much experience, and what kind, makes a candidate viable.

The study draws a distinction between leadership abilities and leadership experience. When asked what was more important -- "leadership qualities, intelligence and vision" or "proven experience in government" -- 78 percent went with the former.

And "experience" was ranked 11 out of 12 on a list of characteristics young people want in their next president; "integrity" came in first. This attitude is partly the result of the millennials watching their own peers "achieving success quickly, as, say, Marc Zuckerberg did," MTV C.E.O. Judy McGrath said in her introduction.

Just across town as the MTV breakfast unfolded, Scholastic was announcing the political leanings of an even younger set -- school students under 18.

The book publisher's Scholastic Election Poll has reflected the outcome of the year election in every contest since 1940 except twice. (Students didn't see Harry Truman's 1948 victory over Thomas Dewey coming, and they went with Richard Nixon over John F. Kennedy in 1960. Still, they did anticipate that George W. Bush would beat Albert Gore in 2000).

This year, 57 percent of the quarter-million kids polled chose Barack Obama; 39 percent chose John McCain.

But the most notable news out of the poll had nothing to do with either candidate. Student write-ins, which included Ralph Nader, Ron Paul, Hillary Clinton, and Stephen Colbert, accounted for 4 percent of the vote -- a record.

Sounds like a generation of voting mavericks in the making.

by Megan Angelo

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