When wrinkled old people with no souls on CNN and Fox News claim college students don’t vote, they’re lying. Of course we vote. We voted for a new American Idol, didn’t we? We share our approval ratings on RateMyProfessors.com and we definitely held a poll for whether Britney Spears should keep her children (I say give them to someone neutral ‘ like Michael Jackson).
Even still, college students are an untapped demographic for presidential candidates. Gaining the support of college students can potentially break a close race wide open. However, it has been difficult to get young adults involved in politics because ‘ well, it’s boring. Presidential candidates constantly use words reminiscent of the SATs and certainly do not address the issues presented to them.
There have been many attempts to make voting ‘cool,’ like Puff Daddy/Sean Combs/Diddy’s laughably hyperbolic and unnecessarily violent ‘Vote or Die’ campaign. It failed, obviously, due to its use of role models like Paris Hilton and Ludacris ‘ both of whom forgot to vote, let alone register. Rather than present the ideas and solutions of the politicians, we got a threat: vote or 50 Cent will pop a cap in your ass.
So when I heard of this new MySpace and MTV joint forum with current presidential candidates, I was skeptical. I wondered if real international and domestic issues, such as the ongoing disaster in Iraq and nationwide healthcare, would be addressed, or were silly questions going to be asked such as, ‘Do you think Lindsay Lohan should stay in rehab,’ or, ‘What is Pocahontas’s breast size?’
I tuned in to watch Democrat presidential hopeful John Edwards field questions asked by students of the University of New Hampshire (New Hampshire’s status as a state is already news to me) and also through the MySpace IM from the viewers at home.
John Edwards was pried with some tough questions such as, ‘If nationwide health care is to be provided, does that mean increased taxes?’ and ‘How will you stop inner city violence?’
He answered the best he could, sometimes faltering into the way of the devil (I’m sorry, I meant politician) and beating around the bush. Yet it was extremely entertaining to see the instant polls of what viewers thought of his ideas presented to him followed by his ‘Oh shit, I’m getting graded’ look.
Although it is a welcomed change from those uninteresting, convoluted presidential debates, it’s not perfect. MySpace is mostly made up of child molesters and terrible musicians. Facebook would have been a better choice as the majority of its members are still college students and they have their real names on it. I don’t know how many times I cringed when ‘LunarGoddess6b’ had a question for a potential president.
Twelve more presidential candidates are scheduled to hold the same question and answer session, including Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani. You can look up more information at myspace.com/election2008. Don’t forget to tune in to Hilary Clinton’s session, as I will attempt to ask her if Bill Clinton really is her bitch (I’m betting yes).