When I first learned that the race for the Democratic ticket was between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, I was hopeful that this election would inspire my demographic of historically apathetic voters. Sure enough, young people swarmed to the polls en masse to take part in the excitement. At the Iowa caucus alone, Democratic voters under age 25 increased 135 percent.
This was no mistake. Both Obama and Hillary have been catering to young voters through Facebook accounts and YouTube debates for months. I was elated to see these efforts until I realized that the media was taking it too far.
The coverage focused on images of Hillary tearing up or pinching the cheek of MSNBC host Chris Matthews. A Yahoo poll reported that of all candidates, the least amount of voters would invite Hillary on a family vacation. When asked to select the best descriptors of each presidential hopeful, they dubbed Obama “likeable” and “attractive” while Hillary won for “strong” and “experienced.” The least-used descriptor for Obama was “experienced,” and for Hillary, “attractive.” These people found Obama likeable and Hillary competent.
And still, 57 percent of voters age 17-29 supported Obama in Iowa.
Suddenly, I realized this had become American Idol: The Presidency, in which voters value image over talent.
In our pop music culture, fans are obsessed with the personal lives of musicians. It doesn’t matter that musicians often don’t write their own songs, so long as they have intriguing lifestyles with drama worthy of Perez Hilton’s judgments. People are more interested in Christina’s new baby than in her ability to hold a tune.
In the same way, the media is pushing through a debate that is based on charisma and who would be best at a cocktail party. When they replay Hillary’s cheek pinching instead of scrutinizing Obama’s congressional history, they are creating a presidential election shallower than any of its predecessors.
If they analyzed experience, they would see that Hillary knows the ins and outs enough to understand what it takes to run a presidency. She has been in Washington politics since 1974.
While Hillary worked on the congressional impeachment inquiry staff during Watergate, Obama was still in middle school. Today, he has spent a mere three years in Washington.
Admittedly, I agree with a lot of the polls. I think Obama is more attractive, and I would definitely invite him along on a family vacation. Just because he is charming and full of potential doesn’t mean he can run a country. We need to value personality insofar as to elect someone who can interact successfully with world leaders, their fellow citizens and Congressmen, but not to the point that we sacrifice experience.
In the meantime, Obama has 246,115 supporters on Facebook and poor Hillary only has 73,840. It looks like my generation will vote for the likeable over the competent in the biggest American Idol yet.
Medill junior Meredith Laitos can be reached at [email protected].
