The young and the restless

Just about the only good I could ever see in the election of Barack Obama was the near inevitability that the young voters who helped elect him would become disillusioned. These voters had been trending leftward so vigorously that more than just the slow aging process seemed necessary to reverse the movement. An Obama presidency always seemed likely to supply the “more.”

And so, finally, it has. From Ron Fournier of the National Journal:

Young Americans are turning against Barack Obama and Obamacare, according to a new survey of millennials, people between the ages of 18 and 29 who are vital to the fortunes of the president and his signature health care law.

The most startling finding of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics: A majority of Americans under age 25–the youngest millennials–would favor throwing Obama out of office.

It looks like the young and the restless take their buyer’s remorse seriously.

But this is not the only striking finding of the Harvard survey:

Obama’s approval rating among young Americans is just 41 percent, down 11 points from a year ago, and now tracking with all adults. While 55 percent said they voted for Obama in 2012, only 46 percent said they would do so again.

Millennials are also less than thrilled with Obamacare:

According to the poll, 57 percent of millennials disapprove of Obamacare, with 40 percent saying it will worsen their quality of care and a majority believing it will drive up costs. Only 18 percent say Obamacare will improve their care. Among 18-to-29-year-olds currently without health insurance, less than one-third say they’re likely to enroll in the Obamacare exchanges.

Is this because they don’t like being forced to subsidize health care for the old and sick or because Obamacare turned out not to be cool, what with the messed up website and all? The poll doesn’t tell us.

It does report that more than two-thirds of millennials said they heard about the ACA through the media. Normally that would be good news for Obamacare, but not with a product this messed up.

Disillusioned millennials aren’t flocking to the Republican party, though. Only 24 percent consider themselves Republicans.

So where, politically speaking, will they go? Perhaps many of them will stay home on election day for a few cycles. That wouldn’t be so bad given how stupidly they rallied around our snake oil salesman president, Mr. Hope and Change.

Perhaps in a few years they will take a fresh and more mature look at the political landscape, a look informed by adult responsibilities and their unhappy fling with Barack Obama. That wouldn’t be so bad either.

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