HOPE AND CHANGE

Jobs Bill Aimed at Young Voters

Obama hits Ohio to campaign for it.

President Obama hit Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, trying to sell his $447 billion jobs proposal to young voters—the demographic that was so crucial to his 2008 election. “He needs to replicate 2008, with high turnout among minorities and the young,” said Ohio State University political scientist Paul Beck. But young voters—especially those at Ohio State University, which helped him carry the state in 2008—could become somewhat of a problem for Obama, because they are viewing politics through a different lens than they did in 2008. The national unemployment rate is hovering at 9 percent—and many of those unemployed are young college graduates, key campaigners for Obama in 2008. A Washington Post poll this month showed that fewer than half the people between the ages of 18 to 29 gave Obama positive remarks—a first.