The Teen Vote

There has been a lot of talk lately about Rock the Vote and Adopt the Vote and Teen Choice etc. Much of this talk has essentially amounted to the fact that the "Too Young to Vote" crowd is slanting towards Kerry.

Well, the Ranger sent me an email with a link that says otherwise.

Apparently Channel One, the school news network that I watched from 6th grade through High School conducted its own poll. If I remember correctly, Channel One usually cuts a deal with schools that they will provide free TVs to the schools if the schools agree to make the kids watch 12 minutes of news in the morning, with commercials. Veterns of Channel One news include CNN's Anderson Cooper, Lisa Ling, Monica Novotny and others who I've seen around the major news channels but whose names I can't remember. So basically channel one has a captive audience for whatever slant it chooses to take. I remember it being a bit liberal, but I don't put a lot of stock in those fuzzy school morning memories.

In any case, the poll results were good news for the President, or probably moreso the future of the Republican party:

American teens have spoken, and they want George W. Bush for president. Nearly 1.4 million teens voted in the nation's largest mock election, and the Republican incumbent wound up with 393 electoral votes and 55 percent of the total votes cast.

Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry received 145 electoral votes, far short of the 270 electoral votes needed to win a presidential election. Kerry received 40 percent of the total votes, while five percent of teens selected the third-party option, though no third-party presidential hopefuls managed to pick up any electoral votes.

In an exit poll taken after making their pick for president, teens weighed in on the issues most important to them. A majority of respondents-- 44 percent-- said that the war in Iraq was the most important issue facing the candidates today. The economy was the first priority in the minds of 22 percent of teens, followed by education (14 percent), national security (12 percent) and health care (8 percent).

I'm surprised that the War in Iraq is at the top, and national security is so much lower, however, I would guess this is a direct result of what Channel One has been covering lately.

If you're interesting in see what teens in your state think, follow the link so see a state by state breakdown. Though I would reiterate that this is another indication that the youth of today are not interested in following in the Anti-war hippy footsteps of the youth of the 60s.

Also of note, these results show a win of FORTY states for President Bush. Exactly what Hugh Hewitt has been predicting for weeks now.