Young voters ignite a new activism that's reshaping presidential race
By Ed Sealover, Rocky Mountain News
Published October 25, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by Brian Lehmann / The Rocky
Chris Longo, 24, and Kathryn Longo, 18, cheer for Senate candidate Mark Udall before a young Republicans and young Democrats debate at Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley.
Photo by Judy Dehaas / The Rocky
Vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin talks with supporters in Grand Junction this week. Republicans say they have seen a surge of interest by young voters since Palin joined the ticket.
Photo by Judy Dehaas / The Rocky
Tracie Sudermann, of Lakewood, feeds her 5-month-old son, Joseph, before Sarah Palin arrived for a rally at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Golden this week.
Photo by Darin McGregor / The Rocky
Mason Miller, 27, of Denver, sits on the step at the upstairs bar at Senger's on the Fax and watches as presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain during their last debate.
Photo by Dennis Schroeder / The Rocky
Mandy Colby, 21, registered to vote three months ago. She recently decided to back John McCain. "It's because of his choice of (Sarah) Palin," she said.
When Sarah Fong went looking for a party on a recent Friday night, she wasn't thinking about a beer and a bar band.
The 28-year-old Denver resident learned from a friend's Facebook page about a gathering where people her age would spend much of the evening writing postcards to undecided voters about why they support Democratic candidates. Fong arrived at a Highlands-area condo to find Blue Moon beer, bread, artichoke dip and about 50 other people who had come for the same reason.
Young adults of all partisan persuasions are either shunning their once traditional leisure pursuits or imbuing them with a new political spirit. University of Colorado students in full face paint are knocking on doors to register voters. Twenty- somethings gather in bars to watch presidential debates. Computer screens once dominated by video games now blare with campaign message boards.
Electoral politics, once the realm of the aged and the lifelong activists, are becoming a younger person's game. And voters under the age of 30, once the most elusive and absent group every Election Day, could have a major impact on races in 2008 - and, some believe, for many years to come.
"We have the potential for voters under the age of 30 or 35 to be a bigger percentage of the electorate this year than our seniors," said Lori Weigel, a partner with Republican pollster Public Opinion Strategies. "I think turnout is going to be massive."
It's not a sure thing: While enthusiasm among younger voters is higher than at any time people can remember, there is no precedent for how that will translate at the voting booth. But candidates, especially Democrats, are banking on a record surge of new young voters.
"I definitely think there's a lot of people who have not been politically active who are now," said Crisanta Duran, the 28-year-old president of the Colorado Young Democrats, which is organizing about 40 postcard parties similar to the one Fong attended. "I also think there are a lot of people who have been disenfranchised who are coming back."
This isn't a partisan hypothesis. Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams said he has seen the trend in the crowds that come to rallies for GOP presidential nominee John McCain and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, too, and the party is looking for ways to attract even more young voters.
Not long ago, young people made up such a small percentage of voters that focus-group leaders didn't bother asking their opinions, Weigel said. In 1996, only 35.6 percent of people under age 25 cast a ballot, according to Tufts University's Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, which studies Americans between ages 15 and 25.
Some younger voters were more into social activities and didn't keep a regular enough schedule to volunteer for or care about politics, said Brett Moore, political director of the Denver Metro Young Republicans.
Without owning a home or having kids in school, young people didn't feel as invested in their communities, added Mike McDevitt, a University of Colorado assistant journalism professor specializing in youth civic development.
But after youth voting jumped to 47 percent four years ago, more than 6.5 million people under age 30 participated in primaries and caucuses across the country this year.
The percentage of Colorado voters age 30 and younger has decreased slightly since 2004 - from 23.8 percent to 23.4 percent - because the state's population is aging. But there remain 746,342 registered voters who are 30 or younger in the state as compared to the 652,805 voters who are older than 60, according to the secretary of state's office.
Surge of activism
Election watchers differ on the exact cause of the sudden surge of activism, but most pin it on two factors.
First, the "Millennials" generation that is in or has recently graduated from college is more interested and engaged than any in memory. And second, use of the Internet and new communication technologies makes it easier to get involved then ever before.
Before this new generation began showing an upturn in interest in the ballot box, it already cared more about the community than its parents did at their age. A 2003 federal survey of high school seniors found 75.5 percent did volunteer work - a number way up from the 63 percent that did in 1976, noted CIRCLE director Peter Levine.
People in this age group are more likely than others to know someone who has fought in Afghanistan or Iraq and, as such, have a heightened interest in foreign affairs, Weigel said.
Also, those who have come of age recently are more likely to be environmentalists and are excited about candidates pushing for an increase in alternative energy sources, Duran said.
And then there's the economy. The mounting troubles in America's financial system scare those just beginning to accumulate their lives' savings as much as it worries those ready for retirement.
Wesley Dickinson, a 30-year-old Denver engineer, thinks the economy is forcing people near his age to confront politics more so than at any time since the 1970s economic downturn created a generation of Reagan Republicans. Since then, people have been able to live relatively comfortably and didn't care so much about what the government did; that no longer is true, he said.
"They haven't had to worry about the economy like our parents did," said Dickinson, a limited-government supporter who has had a keen interest in such things for many years. "The economy's been booming in general steady growth. And now we're getting into the first election times where people are scared."
Information on Web
Even with that newfound urgency, the current roar of young voters might be just a murmur without the Internet.
Few young people read a printed paper, and many gathered at both Republican and Democratic young-voter gatherings in recent weeks said they don't own a television. They get their information from Web sites and even plan their social calendars through online networking sites such as Facebook.
And it is precisely because younger people can do almost anything in front of a computer monitor - organize a campaign event, donate money, air their opinions on a blog - that they are newly active, Justin Longo said. In the days of door-knocking and phone-calling drives 20 years ago, it was hard to hold down a full-time job and be an activist. Now, people of any income level and any work schedule can do so at any time.
"I'd like to think that without the Internet we would be so active. But I doubt it, because the costs of activism are so low this way," said Longo, 26, who is a "Web monkey" with the conservative Independence Institute in Golden. "With only a few key strokes, you put yourself in the role of an activist."
Internet users can find meetings or activities very specific to their peer and interest groups. This is how the postcard parties are organized. It's how 26-year-old Amanda Teresi founded Liberty on the Rocks, a group of free- market backers that gathers at bars twice a month in the Denver area to discuss politics or watch the presidential debate, as members did last week.
Tapping into movement
And now the presidential campaigns are trying to tap into this movement.
The Obama campaign has set up an iPhone application where people can download his positions or local campaign events just by touching their screens. It also has collected millions of phone numbers so that when it comes time to vote, it can send messages to young voters reminding them to do so.
McCain's campaign, which has no such iPhone application, is working with college and young Republican groups and reaching out to younger voters through his daughter Megan McCain's Mccainblogette.com site, spokesman Tom Kise said. It also is emphasizing that the issues that affect all voters, such as the candidate's differing tax plans, affect young voters.
More localized campaigns are getting in on the trend, too.
After graduating from the University of Colorado in May, Jesper Frant began taping U.S. Senate candidate Mark Udall's events and putting one-minute videos on YouTube, which is frequented by younger people. Udall liked the work of the 23-year-old volunteer so much that he hired him full-time.
The strange thing is that these younger voters don't view voting as a patriotic responsibility as their parents did, according to a recent study by University of Washington political science professor Lance Bennett. They are more suspicious of government and more apt to want to help their community through group volunteering than through the ballot box.
So, just asking for a young person's vote probably won't be enough to get it, McDevitt said. Campaigns have to ask them to get involved as well.
As such, the University of Colorado and Colorado State University Obama supporters are engaged in a contest where they paint school colors on their faces and knock on area doors to register new voters, said Stephanie Mueller, communications director for Sen. Barack Obama's Colorado campaign.
Regardless of how these young voters are getting involved, however, they appear to be doing it overwhelmingly on the Democratic side. Young voters backed Democratic gubernatorial candidates by a 21-point margin in 2006 and U.S. House Democratic candidates by 20 points, according to CIRCLE.
A Rocky Mountain News poll done earlier this week shows that Democratic Obama holds a lead of 58 percent to 36 percent among voters under the age of 35 in Colorado.
The 47-year-old Obama's positive message of hope and change appeals to a generation known for its idealism and enthusiasm, Levine said.
Republicans don't concede young voters to their rival. The state party has put up a Facebook site, a Flickr picture-sharing account and a YouTube page with videos of events.
GOP students at CSU can be seen passing out "Spooky Politicians" trading cards at debate-watching parties, said Chelsey Penoyer, chairwoman of Colorado State's College Republicans. And they too have seen a surge of interest since the 44-year-old Palin was added to the ticket, she said.
Taylor Branch, a Colorado State University-Pueblo freshman from Canon City, said she knows no one who isn't voting. She admits that she's not really excited about either candidate, but she also understands how important this election is, she said.
There is still a chance young people could choose to stay home. There is no research, after all, on how much Internet-based activism translates to actual votes.
The question is: Is this a blip on the electoral screen or a long-term shift? While Levine noted that when someone votes once, their chances of voting again increases greatly, the real answer may be determined by how the election turns out and how the next four years go.
Maybe people will get discouraged if their candidate doesn't win or if the next president doesn't keep all of his promises, Fong acknowledged. But she said she believes the fire that has caught her generation will spread.
"I think that people need to feel like they're doing something to make things better. And it's contagious," she said of the voting surge. "Once you see that you're doing something good and you can see the fruits of your labor, you'll do it again."
Reporter Ashleigh Oldland contributed to this story.
The next generation
Percentage of registered younger voters who have cast ballots in presidential elections since 1988 nationally, compared with registered older adults.
* 1988 - 39.9% ages 18-24; 68.5% ages 30+
* 1992 - 48.6% ages 18-24; 72.4% ages 30+
* 1996 - 35.6% ages 18-24; 63.6% ages 30+
* 2000 - 36.1%ages 18-24; 64.6% ages 30+
* 2004 - 46.7% ages 18-24; 67.7% ages 30+
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October 25, 2008
12:44 p.m.
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SteveM writes:
GObama! 2008! The change we need. Thanks to all the young people who are finally realizing that the decisions made now when they are young politically affect their future!!!! Bravo! Where were you in 2000 and 2004? I know you weren't old enough to vote! God bless you!
October 26, 2008
9:18 a.m.
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FCZ writes:
when his mother moved to Indonesia and married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian, Obama was adopted by Soetoro and became an Indonesian citizen; while in Indonesia, Obama had his name changed to Barry Soetoro;
Obama traveled to Pakistan in 1981 under an Indonesian passport when Pakistan was a no travel zone for Americans.
Obama’s Kenyan grandmother claims that Obama was born in Kenya; Muammar Gadhafi, leader of Libya, has publicly claimed that Obama was born in Kenya and studied in Muslim schools in Indonesia. Obama has also “admitted” to hold citizenship in another country (the U.S. Constitution forbids dual citizenship).
http://peoplespassions.org/peoplesvoi...
October 26, 2008
9:36 a.m.
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Nobama writes:
It sure looks like Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. This is a sad commentary about our country. It implies that a majority of voters favor a candidate based more upon personal characteristics and attributes instead of political ideals and experience. This same majority apparently think that Obama and the Federal government can, or should, resolve their personal education, health, welfare, social and economic problems. If so, we are likely heading down a path towards socialism and away from capitalism. It is hard for me to believe that Obama’s young “followers” are so naïve, idealistic and gullible.
October 26, 2008
9:38 a.m.
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Nobama writes:
FCZ,
Keep it coming. We need to get the facts out there. But, I'm afraid it just doesn't matter. The Obama folks are not going to be swayed with facts that don't fit their agenda and world view. I find that incredible.
October 26, 2008
9:39 a.m.
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Nobama writes:
Have you all seen the Obama ad where it's all about his youth with his "single Mom" and Grandparents? He talks about his "earliest memories" with his Grandpa and his Mom helping him with his "lessons". Lots of family photos, but, there's no mention of any father figure whatsoever. Apparently, we are to assume his Mom had a passing affair with a Black man and never knew anything about him. Well, what about his Father and his Stepfather? I guess Obama has no "early memories" of Lolo Soctoro, his Stepfather, with whom he lived in Indonesia, an Islamic Muslim country, from the age of 6 to 11. Or, maybe Obama has just suppressed those memories, and asks us to do the same. Is it really this easy to dupe the American public? I'm afraid it is.
October 26, 2008
9:52 a.m.
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ColoradoGal57 writes:
Seriously.... REALLY? If Obama is not an American citizen and a terrorist don'tcha think he probably would not have gotten this far in the election process? I couldn't even purchase a new car last month without my social security number and a back ground check proving that I'm not a terrorist. The government chases terrorists all over the world and do you honestly believe that we have a terrorist giving his travel/appearance itinerary to everyone and he's not being detained? Seriously..... really!!
October 26, 2008
10:02 a.m.
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Nobama writes:
ColoradoGal57,
Just exactly where in the previous posts did anybody call Obama a "terrorist". I'm thinking maybe you overreacted slightly and then exaggerated your reply. And, you say someone can't "puchase a new car" without being a citizen with a valid social security number? "Seriously"?
October 26, 2008
10:09 a.m.
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ColoradoGal57 writes:
Yes... contact Stevenson Toyota on Havana
October 26, 2008
10:21 a.m.
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Dinty writes:
SteveM writes:
"GObama! 2008! The change we need."
Everything is Bush's fault, according to the Democrats. So, how about we turn their "logic" back on them and see how it plays out?
The first six years Bush was in office the economy seemed just fine.
About two years ago:
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%.
4) The Dow Jones hit a record high.
5) American's were buying new cars and living well.
In 2006 we got a Democratic Congress. In the past two years:
1) Consumer confidence has plummeted;
2) Gasoline went over $4 a gallon at one point;
3) Unemployment is over 6.5%;
4) Americans have seen their home equities erode 9% in CO;
5) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.
6) The Dow Jones has dropped by almost 40%.
In 2006, America voted for change, and we sure got it!
Just what has Congress done it the last two years? Not much, unless you consider their constant negativity and denigration of the economy. Oh, I almost forget the free "stimulus" money they handed out on credit. Their “leaders” have been saying we were in a recession since the beginning of 2008. We weren’t, at least not then. But, they have have managed to achieve their objective, just in time for the election. Now, Obama claims that he, along with the Democrat Congress, are going to really give us change. Just how much more “change” do you think we can stand?
October 26, 2008
10:28 a.m.
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NeilT writes:
It's all about context, nobama. You say "Islamic Muslim country" and we know what you're getting at. Just like when you idiots use his middle name. You say, "but, but it IS his name, whats wrong with using it?" Again, context.
Did you see McCains sad performance on Meet the Press today? It was sad to see him stutter so much, repeat himself so many times and lose track of his thoughts mid-sentence. He can't remember the name of a former Secretary of State that endorsed him during the primary.
Something is going on with McCain. He is a far cry from the man I supported in 2000.
October 26, 2008
10:34 a.m.
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NeilT writes:
Dinty,
This downturn/recession/depression started in 2005.
October 26, 2008
11:04 a.m.
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Dinty writes:
NeilT writes:
"It's all about context, nobama. You say "Islamic Muslim country" and we know what you're getting at. Just like when you idiots use his middle name. You say, "but, but it IS his name, whats wrong with using it?" Again, context."
Exactly what is your point? What's up with calling someone an "idiot" when they use Obama's middle name? Does that term "idiot" objectively and logically follow? Why is that so, according to you? So, you would like all that left out of your world view "context" because it makes you uncomfortable? Or, is it just not "politically correct" in the context of Barack Hussein Obama's cult?
October 26, 2008
11:12 a.m.
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Dinty writes:
NeilT writes:
"Dinty,
This downturn/recession/depression started in 2005."
That would be incorrect. There was no negative GDP through the first 2 quarters of 2008. That is the exact definition of a "recession". I'm assuming we are in one now.
October 26, 2008
11:38 a.m.
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NeilT writes:
Obama's middle name doesn't make me uncomfortable at all. The same can't be said about your clan.
GDP started to shrink in 2005. What...you think we go from +2.8 to a negative reading overnight or even in a few months?
I'm well aware of what the classical definition of recession is. There is nothing classical about this downturn (I'll borrow your clans rose-colored glasses and use that term from now on, it seems to make you feel better). We are in an entirely different world with a much larger and complex system today. Think global economy and new/risky financial instruments. Old measurements are quickly losing value.
Even Greenspan claims to be confused. Maybe he should call you for direction. You got it all figured out.
October 26, 2008
11:38 a.m.
Suggest removal
Uno writes:
So, the next generation is voting in increased numbers;
"2004 - 46.7% ages 18-24; 67.7% ages 30+" - that's 114.4% even without the 25-29 age group. Is that in all 57 states?
October 26, 2008
11:41 a.m.
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Uno writes:
1992 had a better turnout yet.
October 26, 2008
11:42 a.m.
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FCZ writes:
Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution reads: …
If we are to ignore parts of the Constitution now, what parts will we ignore next year ?
Or soon ignore it all ?
October 26, 2008
11:46 a.m.
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NeilT writes:
Why not, FCZ?
It's just a g-damn piece of paper, right?
October 26, 2008
2:06 p.m.
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DahmersCookbook writes:
Nobama, Your spot on in your first post. People are simply voting for the "popular guy in school" by choosing Obama. It's really very sad to think that people are that blind. If you work with the public they are very gullible, it's actually very sickening once you've gotten to see it first hand, the "Caveman" still walks. I myself was undecided until educating myself about their policy plans/views. McCain is terrible at debate compared to Obama who is professional, composed, solid and dominating. I'm still voting for McCain. We'll get the same of what we've had for the last 8 but in a lighter more palatable volume. Obama is just too risky. VOTE McCAIN!
October 26, 2008
3:23 p.m.
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NeilT writes:
"McCain is terrible at debate compared to Obama who is professional, composed, solid and dominating"
Characteristics one might appreciate in a leader when they talk to other leaders or employees, no?
"I'm still voting for McCain. We'll get the same of what we've had for the last 8 but in a lighter more palatable volume. Obama is just too risky. VOTE McCAIN!"
You want to know what is really risky? Trusting somebody as confused, unstable, forgetful, angry and so out of touch with the position of leader of the most powerful military in the world.
October 26, 2008
3:53 p.m.
Suggest removal
djbrav writes:
Nobama writes:
'It sure looks like Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. This is a sad commentary about our country. It implies that a majority of voters favor a candidate based more upon personal characteristics and attributes instead of political ideals and experience.'
Actually - and I speak for myself - Obama gets the vote BECAUSE of his political ideals and his experience. And yes, he also possesses the ability to energize a great number of people, make them feel good about creating a positive community. He has demonstrated throughout this campaign that he is a great leader. His message is not only what he is going to do to put this great country back on its tracks, but what we all need to do to get it there. I can't say that McCain/Palin has sent a similar message.
Not everybody, actually at this point a majority, have similar viewpoints as you noboma. I don't share the same ideals as McCain - nor do I appreciate his style of campaign. Its negative and it has put us against them. All you neo-cons are whining at how an Obama administration will force leftist policy down your throats. How he won't work across the isle on a balanced agenda. I don't know if he will or won't, but it has been hell to endure the last 8 years of Bush's far right agenda and his inability to work across the isle. If Obama is elected president a week from Tuesday, and its looking pretty good at this point, lets just say it will be karma.
October 26, 2008
8:07 p.m.
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Reason writes:
Remember when the youth vote won Kerry the election in 2004? Puff Daddy got all kinds of MTV watching kids out to the booths.
October 26, 2008
11:11 p.m.
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glacierdude writes:
Uno writes:
So, the next generation is voting in increased numbers;
"2004 - 46.7% ages 18-24; 67.7% ages 30+" - that's 114.4% even without the 25-29 age group. Is that in all 57 states?
There has been enormous progress in the backhoe industry. You are going to be hugely surprised at how many dead bodies the Dems are going to be able to dig up to vote in this election. 114%....that's nothing. I'll bet 150% of all elligible voters find there ways to the polling booth this time around.
October 26, 2008
11:33 p.m.
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Sixtysixdeuce writes:
Obama will most likely be the next president of the United States. Unfortunately, this is not because he is qualified, capable or of sufficient moral character, but because the GOP offered up the most sorry has-been in the party.
I can't help but think the GOP is deliberately handing the election to the democrats.
This country is doomed. All we have to do is look at history; 1930's Germany. I'll say nothing more. Those here with enough intelligence can see the pattern emerging already. I'm not usually one to shout "the sky is falling", but I fear that the current situation may be that grave.
October 27, 2008
8:42 a.m.
TweenerSongs writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
October 27, 2008
8:45 a.m.
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cassidy22 writes:
Nobama - read his book "Dreams of my Father"
And get over yourself. He was born in Hawaii. Yes, he lived in Indonesia. Yes, he has a father, that me met, who was Kenyan. He has also met half brothers and sisters of his father, because he had other wives in Kenya.
You claim his supporters are "blind" and won't look for the truth.
NO, we have educated ourselves and don't believe the myths that he is not a citizen, that he doens't know who his father was (his father has since passed away)
is there something wrong with travelling? I travelled the world at the age of 6 with my father due to his job. Does it make me a bad person? I was 6!!
While seeking the "truth" about candidates, why don't you ask why John McCain is so incredibly vehement about covering up MIA/POW records for US soldiers. Why has he done everything he can to seal those records for DECADES, blocking information from families whose sons have never come home - when that information may have helped them come home. As a POW himself, what is he covering up that he doens't want anyone to see?
October 27, 2008
8:49 a.m.
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TweenerSongs writes:
and the '57 states' comment. . .
get over it, already. do i really have to explain that to you, as well? i mean, do you HONESTLY BELEIVE that obama -- a harvard law grad, far more educated than the GOP ticket -- do you honestly believe that he thinks there are fifty-seven states?
wow. this is worse than i thought.
T
October 27, 2008
9:03 a.m.
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UNV_ME writes:
This is not a campaign, this is a movement. People want a new direction. People who never voted are now wanting their voices heard, people that would never vote for a person of color are now doing so, and people that voted republican are now voting the other way. This is the voice of the people that are angry over where we stand as a country because of the failed policies of the Republican party.
Obama/Biden '08
October 27, 2008
9:50 a.m.
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Marshdale writes:
FCZ: Your information is crap. The sources you site are not reliable at all.
October 27, 2008
10:17 a.m.
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LingLingfor_prez writes:
I would encourage you all to read the actual lawsuit that Obama did not answer, he just wanted the suit thrown out instead. Although the lawsuit was thrown out, it will be appealed to the next higher court. The governor of Hawaii has ordered Obama's birth certificate sealed most likely for political reasons. All Obama has to do is tell the American people what the truth is and answer those questions about his citizenship status. It would be wise to answer the allegations because if they are true it will come out eventually and then he would have to be impeached. This is not going away even if Obama is elected president. The DNC did not do a background check is one of the lawsuits other questions. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-n...
October 27, 2008
11:05 a.m.
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JB writes:
So, to all the people who are questioning where Obama was born... even if you were right, which you're not, why are you not screaming at the top of your lungs that McCain isn't eligible. He was born in Panama, in the Panama Canal Zone (there is actually evidence that he was born in a hospital outside the zone in Panama). I don't see you all hollaring that he isn't eligible! Why? Because it's totally irrelevant...
If you want to argue about who is best to run the country, stick to issues, not mudslinging.
October 27, 2008
11:43 a.m.
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rickg19611 writes:
Obama supporters have backfired in their attacks.....
Obama supporters tried to trash McCain (and all other families of military personnel) when they tried to claim that McCain wasn't an American when he was born on a military base where his father was serving the US.
That backfired, when it turned to be a non-issue, since US military installations are considered to be American territory.
Not only did Obama supporters trash US military personnel (as usual), they raised questions about Obama in the process.
Now, Obama supporters want to hide the same question being asked of Obama. Instead of directly answering it with credible evidence.... they dodge by trying to raise other issues, and try to make excuses for why Obama continues to refuse to allow anyone to see a birth certificate.
What is Obama hiding?
Instead of refuting the evidence in court, Obama and his gang of lawyers chose to try to get the case dismissed without anyone seeing the evidence. Why resort to desperate legal manuevering if the evidence is favorable to your case?
Why didn't Obama want the evidence revealed? If the evidence was that he met the requirement, why did he try to avoid anyone seeing the evidence?
Why did Obama's own Kenyan grandmother publicly state that she witnessed his birth in Kenya?
Did Obama and his gang try to raise the issue on McCain in hopes it would give him cover for Obama's own inability to meet the Constitutional requirements of being a native born American?
As long as Obama and his gang of backfiring supporters keep trying to prevent Americans from seeing the evidence - his birth certificate - the questions will remain..... and Obama will keep looking guilty.