Unless you’ve been able to awkwardly dodge every person on campus asking you to vote, you’ve probably discovered there’s a group of people that think voting is more crucial this year, more than ever. Don’t worry after today; people will stop pressing the point because Oct. 6 marks the last day to register to vote for the November election.
That group that sits in Sykes is from the Obama-Biden campaign, and has been attempting to raise awareness of the deadline to register to vote.
That’s fine; that’s their right, but where has the McCain campaign been?
Younger voters, especially those in high school and college, tend to lean toward Obama. On WCU’s campus, this is no different. In two polls, 64 percent of WCU students said they would vote for Barack Obama.
That is a huge number, especially if Obama can motivate young people to make it to the polls, something John Kerry did not do enough four years ago.
Political pundits are saying the same thing they did in 2004, that if the democrats can draw a high voter turnout, it will better their chance to win the presidency.
Just because young people tend to slide democratic, does not excuse John McCain for not attempting to sway younger voters.
When John McCain selected Sarah Palin, one of his goals was to bring in a young face of the party. He’s 72 years old for golly sake; say it ain’t so Joe. “The original maverick” is not really a great motivator.
Palin is very young for a politician. She has kids that are still growing and she doesn’t even have wrinkles.
This campaign is very much like a beverage aisle of a supermarket.
John McCain is very much like grape juice. It tastes good, it’s non-carbonated, in a way its color is mysterious, but overall it has desirable facets. It is not going to blow you away, it’s grape juice, but it is what it is.
Obama is Pepsi. It has great name recognition; it’s bubbly and motivating. Young people drink it and more people prefer it compared to the competition.
Palin is Royal Crown Cola, also known as RC Cola. RC Cola has basically the same look and feel of Pepsi, with a lot less name recognition and motivational ability.
McCain might have chosen Palin for many reasons, but overall one of the top reasons was to attract women, young women. However, Palin hasn’t been able to motivate people, just because she’s an inferior motivation product.
When you go to a vending machine, those that see grape juice and have been drinking grape juice all their lives will probably take a bottle of grape juice.
But if you see Pepsi and RC Cola for the same price, you’re probably going to pick Pepsi. This is brand recognition. RC Cola isn’t bad, but it hasn’t been on the mainstream scene for as long as its competition. RC Cola might fare better with older people who are more familiar with the brand, or it might entice conservative soda drinkers, but it isn’t a game changer in the conventional market.
Joe Six-Pack is smart enough to decipher similar products. Ultimately, brand name recognition will win out over the untested upstart.