For me, that was one of the most important lines in the debate.
Disgracefully, Senator McCain had nothing to say in response. Indeed: young people are only an interest group to him and his handlers. And since conventional wisdom (stupidity?) holds that we don't turn out enough to become significant in elections, John McCain believes he shouldn't waste his time pandering to us.
Except, Senator McCain doesn't realize that the issue of college affordability affects the people he needs voting for him: the parents of college-bound kids. Personally, my college expenses are eating away at my parents' savings. Every dollar they spend on my education is a dollar less for their retirement. Paying for my (and my sister's) education is a tremendous source of pride for my parents: they've told us it's the only reason they've worked so hard over these years.
I've never heard Senator McCain talk about college affordability. For that matter, I haven't heard him address a single issue important to young people. Would his "spending freeze" affect college financial aid? I'm pretty sure-- so far, he hasn't shown that higher education is an item on his list of priorities.
Perhaps, a lot of you think it's wasting time for candidates to talk about youth issues. I'm certain that a lot of folks have become cynical about the youth vote. It's been frequently overhyped, especially in 2004. We're fickle in our decisions, and to top it off-- it's a difficult demographic to poll. For these reasons, campaigns don't like reaching out to us, either.
But there are a few reasons our turnout numbers have been lower in the past. Our voter registration laws are restrictive-- especially for young people. Sure, there are "motor-voter" type laws, but a lot of us get our licenses at 16, when we're not old enough to register to vote. And when these folks turn 18, I doubt they would plan a trip to the DMV in order to register to vote. Moreover, we move a lot, and to top it off, Republicans fight legislative efforts to make it easier to vote.
Campaigns spend tons of money, targeting older voters to turn out on election day. There are even offers to drive them to the polls, and remind them where their polling places are. No such luck for young people, who aren't given a fraction of the attention that older voters are.
So please-- no more deriding young people for turning out.
Barack Obama has changed a lot for young people. As he showed in the debate, he believes that we're not just some constituency, we're vital to the future of this country.
P.S.-- this really got to me in the debate--Senator McCain had the gall to propose a spending freeze, but in the next breath, goes on to say we should support programs like Teach for America. Wouldn't a spending freeze hurt funding for AmeriCorps? Like most of his proposals, I'm sure John McCain didn't think this one through enough.