-By Warner Todd Huston
Obama was supposed to have energized “the youth” of this country like no other presidential candidate ever. We were assured that with Obama as president we’d see a revitalization of “the youth” that would respond by streaming to volunteer for public service. And, in expectation of this avalanche of volunteers, and in build-it-they-will-come mode, Obama had passed through Congress his brown-shirt-like Serve America Act that pumped some $6 billion of our tax money into an upgraded national and community service program.
But the youth have failed him. According to Peter Levine, director of Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) youth volunteering has dropped for the first time sine 9/11.
Of course, I am making light of the situation, here, admittedly. But, let’s look at something that goes against the Obama line of mythology as far as his real support among America’s youth goes. Let’s face it, it isn’t just Obama. The vaunted youth vote has been in steady decline since 18-year-olds were given the vote by a mistaken act of Congress in 1972.
The ‘Youth’ Have Failed The Messiah”