This is impressive, okay. I mean this is hardcore concern-trolling. Some dude over at Forbes.com named Jon Bruner has posted an article on Forbes.com's Trailwatch called "The Kids Love Obama—But Will They Vote For Him?"
He writes of attending the joint Obama/McCain commemorative event on Columbia University campus yesterday, makes some unremarkable observations (students aren't protesting like 1968, Obama didn't work the line due to security concerns onoez). Then he starts getting warmed up, stating that youth vote went up in 2004 but it didn't matter, kids will never vote as much as old people, and it doesn't matter anyway because New York will go blue no matter what. Mind you, at no point in the article does he mention talking to an actual student.
But here's the kicker. Here's the real juicy center of the steak. The article ends with this:
In any case, the Electoral College sees to it that the votes of many Columbia students won’t have any effect on the presidential selection process. Nor will many student votes at the University of Chicago, Harvard, or the University of California at Berkeley, for that matter. Election results in New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and California are practically foregone conclusions, and savvy students at those institutions may well do better to stay home and study than to vote.
I mean I know he's trying to make some lame-ass point about how only urban college kids will vote and it'll make no difference (which I don't believe--I've talked to plenty of kids who live in conservative neighborhoods who report bitterly arguing with their parents over the election, for what it's worth). But just the fact that someone supposedly in authority or with an influential voice or whatever would have the balls to suggest this most un-American of courses. Not only is it stunning in its chutzpah, but is that a whiff of frantic desperation I smell? I mean, really.
Seriously, I think when dreck like this starts popping up, it just means one thing; the other side is a lot more scared than they're letting on. Don't fall into the intimidation campaign. We may win, we may yet lose, but we sure as hell won't win by panicking. In the meantime, if you need a break from making calls and knocking on doors, you could mosey on over to this guy's comment section and tell him how you feel about this fine piece of journalism.