The generation gap
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Many seniors resent any implication that race or ethnic background is driving their political preferences. "When I voice my opinion, I don't like being called a racist," Concetta Levy says. It is true, however, that white voters of all ages are more likely to strongly disapprove of the President. But strong disapproval of Obama and "unease" about him are dramatically higher among white voters over 65 than among millennial whites.
Apathy and Entitlements
And yet for both parties, there's a cautionary wobble in the simple notion of two generations colliding as the 2012 elections approach. The millennials and the Silents alike have deep qualms about their probable choices at the polls next year. That's especially true for the 30-and-under crowd. Although a massive turnout of voters like FAU student Serna helped carry Obama to the White House in 2008, young voters' approval of his job performance has plummeted. So has their interest in the political process. Four years ago, 28% of voters age 30 or younger said they had given a lot of thought to the presidential candidates. Today that number is down to a paltry 13%. Young voters also say they care less about who is elected President than they did four years ago, when the presidential race meant nearly as much to them as it did to their grandparents. Only 69% of millennials now say they care "a good deal" about who wins the presidency, down from 81% four years ago. Such views suggest that many of those young 2008 Obama voters may be tuned out for good and that Democrats will do battle in 2012 without their most energetic foot soldiers. "They're not feeling loyal to the party," says Molly Andolina, a professor of political science at DePaul University who studies the youth vote. "Whether or not they're going to get out there and work in the trenches and show up on Election Day is a big question." Andolina also wonders whether the Occupy Wall Street movement could become a substitute outlet beyond the political system for the energy of frustrated young people. It's no wonder Obama has reached out to a younger audience of late through gestures like his new plan to relieve the crushing burden of student-loan debt and a series of Obama Student Summits kicking off this month.
Silent Generation voters, by contrast, appear, well, fired up and ready to go in 2012. They're more than three times as likely as young voters to be closely following the presidential candidates, and 84% say they care a good deal about who wins the next election. That makes them even more focused on this election than the millennials were in 2008. And they have already aced the dress rehearsal: young voters turned out in lower numbers in the 2010 elections, while the senior vote spiked in the midterms.