Pirate's Cove

They aren’t flocking to Romney (yet), but, Obama is losing quite a few

(Daily Beast) It’s no surprise President Obama officially kicked off his reelection campaign on two college campuses Saturday. You’re supposed to apply pressure at the site of bleeding. And the president’s support among young voters is bleeding away.

While others in the media are focused on the upward trend in the president’s approval ratings over the last four months in this age group, as shown in the latest survey of young Americans’ attitudes toward politics and public service from Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, there are troubling signs for the campaigns and the country embedded more deeply in the numbers.

A snapshot comparison of the college-age subset of millennials from this point in the 2012 election year versus the same point in the 2008 campaign (when only 18- to 24-year-olds were surveyed) should worry Team Obama.

What do these folks care about?

“It’s jobs, stupid.” Of 20 issues presented to the young millennials polled, 78 percent rated jobs as the most important. Only 31 percent of those in college or with some college education thought student-loan debt would create “a lot” of impact on their financial circumstances going forward.

So, while Obama is running around pushing the college loan issue, most don’t care. They want jobs. And Obama is exactly the wrong person to create a positive job situation.

In terms of policies and priorities, the group appears more right of center than imagined. Almost four in 10 believe cutting taxes is key to growth. Just 19 percent think government spending is the answer. And those who believe health insurance is a right dropped from 61 percent in 2008 to 43 percent in 2012.

The top-10 issues ranked in importance for this cohort were creating jobs, reducing the deficit, lowering the tax burden for all, becoming energy-independent, ensuring affordable access to health care, creating a world-class education system, addressing Social Security, preventing the spread of terrorism, protecting individual liberties from government, and preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Combating the impacts of climate change fell near the bottom of the list.

Everything that Obama is incompetent at are important issues. Obama can try the “climate change” route, but, no one will care. He can try all the deflections and silly memes he wants, but, when push comes to shove, he is an unmitigated disaster on the issues that matter. Romney might not get the votes for himself, but, he can keep Obama from getting them with solid messaging.