PEW - "The political enthusiasms of Millennials have since cooled -for Obama and his message"

[grahamhgreen]

"But the political enthusiasms of Millennials have since cooled -for Obama and his message of change, for the Democratic Party and, quite possibly, for politics itself. About half of Millennials say the president has failed to change the way Washington works, which had been the central promise of his candidacy. Of those who say this, three-in-ten blame Obama himself, while more than half blame his political opponents and special interests.

To be sure, Millennials remain the most likely of any generation to self-identify as liberals; they are less supportive than their elders of an assertive national security policy and more supportive of a progressive domestic social agenda. They are still more likely than any other age group to identify as Democrats. Yet by early 2010, their support for Obama and the Democrats had receded, as evidenced both by survey data and by their low level of participation in recent off-year and special elections. (See chapter 8 in the full report)"

PEW - http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/751/millennials-confident-connected-open-to-change

[The Wielding Truth]

1. PU

[terrell9584]

11. I'll tell you where it's coming from

The people who made 4.0s, who had the well rounded extra-cirriculars and all else, I would imagine that anyone of them who was with Obama remains with Obama. Where the dropoff is probably coming from is from the people who did not do as well in college and who have encountered the tougher job market because of it. Because our generation was given the promise that you just go to college and you'll have your dream job when you're done. It didn't turnout that way except for the highest achiever and that pissed off a lot of people.

[The Wielding Truth]

16. What I mean is that PEW has is not credible. So their opinions stink.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. That might be a problem for some folks

[Captain Hilts]

3. The healthcare debate showed them all as comfortable, corporate tools. nt

[DJ13]

4. The bailouts for the wealthy while the rest of us get screwed hasnt helped either

[emilyg]

5. kick

[RandomThoughts]

6. Ahh but quotes we still have. And LOTR is on TBS

I think what they call elders just want the rings of power, and they fight to retrieve the ring, it's destiny is the fires of mount doom.

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
He paused, and then said in a deep voice,
"This is the Master-Ring, the One Ring to rule them all.

This is the One Ring lost many years ago,
to the great weakening of its maker's power.
Now, he greatly desires to have it again,
- but he must NOT get it"





How far can you bear me?" I said to Gwaihir.
"Many leagues", said he, "but not to the ends of the earth.
I was sent to bear tidings not burdens."
"Then I must have a steed on land," I said,
"and a steed surpassingly swift,
for I have never had such need for haste before."
"Then I will bear you to Edoras,
where the Lord of Rohan sits in his halls,"
he said, "for that is not very far off."
And I was glad, for in the Riddermark of Rohan the Rohirrim,
the Horse-lords dwell, and there are no horses like those that
are bred in that great vale between the Misty Mountains and the White.




Elrond raised his eyes and looked at him.........
"This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise
from their quiet fields,
to shake the towers and counsels of the Great.
Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it?"


All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken:
The crownless again shall be king.


Arise now, arise Riders of Theoden!
Dire deeds awake, dark it is eastward.
Let horse be bridled, horn be sounded!
Forth Eorlingas!


And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard in the City, a cock crowed.
Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the
morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn.

And as if in answer there came from far away another note.
Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed.
Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last!









awww, come on, its a great movie and book. :D


Edit:

Just heard the great Sam Quote, always effects me.

Frodo: I can see the Shire. The Brandywine River. Bag End. Gandalf's fireworks, the lights, the party tree.
Sam: Rosie Cotton dancing. She had ribbons in her hair. If ever I was to marry someone... it would have been her. It would have been her!

[Hawkowl]

7. Which character is Obama?

At this point I think he could be at best, King Theoden. And right now, alas, he is under the unscrupulous influence of Wormtongue, aka. Rahm Emmanuel.

Hopefully, the yet to be revealed Gandalf (Ploufe?) will be expelling Wormtongue and pointing Theoden down the path of righteousness.

Although, upon further reflection, Obama most resembles Saruman.

[RandomThoughts]

8. That is for each person to decide on there own.

[elocs]

10. I just rewatched the extended version of "Fellowship" on Friday for the umpteenth time.

Not quite the eleventy-eleventh time, but maybe one day I'll get there.

I am listening to the BBC dramatized radio version of LOTR on cd while I'm driving.

[MrModerate]

9. Many people seem to have believed that bipartisanship could actually work . . .

If one side kept at it long enough.

Never realizing that the right wing had long since abandoned governing in favor of naked political advantage. Other people imagined that Obama believed in a truly liberal slate of policies and programs, not seeing him for what, IMO, he is, a centrist and highly disciplined political operator.

When you peel those two populations off the Millenial numbers, you have the results cited above.

[Captain Hilts]

12. This is interesting. nt

[Odin2005]

13. This Millennial worked his ass off for him. I feel stabbed in the back.

[Kind of Blue]

14. But at the same time, Andrew Kohut, Pew President

in his analysis of their study during an NPR interview does not speak of all that bleakness for Millennials' in politics or life in general.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124052182

SIEGEL: Yes, you mentioned they're relatively supportive of Barack Obama, self-identify to a remarkable degree as liberals and also as Democrats. Are they among those who have also been drifting away from President Obama, the Democrats, as we've seen in so many polls?

Mr. KOHUT: In certainly one respect they have. His approval ratings fell from 73 percent among this generation to 57 percent currently. It's still relatively high to other groups. But underneath it, you see that this generation still has a lot of personal confidence in Obama. Seventy-five percent rate him favorably, just about as much as did - after he took office. ...

SIEGEL: Now, there are some apparent contradictions in what the millennials told your poll...They're satisfied with the money they make, but they're also out of work.

Mr. KOHUT: Yeah, they're very confident that it's all going to work out in the end. Sixty-eight percent of them say either now or at some time in the future -mostly some time in the future - they will earn enough money to lead the kind of life they want, higher than previous generations even though they have this high level of unemployment.

Hurrah for this group. They seem to have pretty good attitudes.


KnR for discussion worthiness

[grahamhgreen]

15. I hope the leadership can come up with a plan to stop the drift away from the party -

If we can really "fix health care later (ie now)", or even fold the old student loans into the new student loan structure, could help.

Of course, exiting NAFTA and GATT, increasing tariffs would certainly bring the jobs back!

[Arugula Latte]

17. The Millenial generation is a LOT better than my stupid-ass generation (old Gen X)

We came of age under that idiot Reagan and too many drank the Kool-Aid then and now.