H -°, L 50° | Tomorrow: 
H 77°, L 54°Shivers ran down my spine as voters flocked to their caucus locations on the night of Jan. 3. Not just because I was confident Sen. Barack Obama would defy the odds and prevail, but mostly because the line to get in was so long. The Iowa caucus saw an unprecedented increase in turnout earlier this month: 239,000 people showed up to caucus for the Democrats, almost doubling the turnout from 2004.
As it got closer and closer to 7 p.m., more voters came, many of them registering as Democrats for the first time in their lives. As an observer, I saw the caucus room fill up. Some locations even had to move to accommodate the increased turnout. One more thing happened that made me proud: You � college students and young people � showed up.
In 2004, just 4 percent of eligible Iowans under the age of 30 came to the caucus, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement. This year that number increased to 13 percent, and they made up 22 percent of the overall vote. By carrying 57 percent of voters ages 17-29, Mr. Obama pulled out the victory, beating John Edwards by 8 points and Hillary Clinton by 9 points.
It�s obvious that Mr. Obama�s message of change and hope resonated with many young people in Iowa, but the massive increase in turnout should largely be attributed to him. Fifty-seven percent of caucus voters participated in their first-ever caucus that night and, of those, 41 percent voted for Mr. Obama.
Furthermore, there were Republicans who switched parties just so they could vote for Mr. Obama. There was a couple in their early 20s who had never caucused before, many high schoolers participating in the voting process for the first time, and a few older women who gushed over Mr. Obama, quick to compare him to JFK. There were old people and young people, black people and white people, Democrats and Republicans, all coming together to stand for change with Barack Obama.
As Mr. Obama joked in his closing speeches leading up to the Iowa caucus, his message of change �must be catching on, because in these last few weeks, everyone is talking about change.�
It showed Jan. 3, because, in the end, that�s what voters showed this election is all about. Too many people in this country have had enough of the divided politics that has plagued our national dialogue for far too long. We seek this change because of a broken system that hasn�t worked for years. Because of a style of politics that led us into a war that should never have been waged. Because of the 47 million without health insurance and the millions living in poverty. Because of a global climate change that is getting out of control and an administration that refuses to acknowledge there�s a problem.
Iowa caucus voters stood with Mr. Obama, and they stood with Democrats. The huge increase in turnout brought thousands into the political process who had never been there before. These people are now likely to participate in November because they realize our need for change, something even the Republican candidates seem to be embracing after Iowa.
Although Mr. Obama lost a close race to Ms. Clinton in New Hampshire, the turnout was also record-breaking. Here, Mr. Obama once again carried first-time primary voters, receiving 47 percent of their vote to Ms. Clinton�s 37 percent, and won a whopping 60 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds. Most importantly, according to exit polls, 54 percent said bringing change was the top quality they looked for in a candidate, which once again shows how Mr. Obama�s message has caught on.
It caught on in that caucus room in Iowa, and it caught on last fall right here on our campus. With your help we have made a lot of progress, but our work is not over. Students for Barack Obama invites you to join us at our kickoff meeting Thursday, Jan. 24. Please visit www.uw4obama.com for the time and location. We�ll let you know how to get involved these last weeks leading up to Super Tuesday and then on to Wisconsin�s primary.
Ami Elshareif ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science and legal studies and is the chair of UW Students for Obama.
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That’s what we need - a Chicago ward heeler!
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Ami, are you hoping that Barack Obama is still secretly a Muslim, and that he’ll invite all the Islamic extremists in to blow up the whole United States? If that’s the case, then I’ll vote for someone else.
Ron Paul in 2008!
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Kickoff tonight: 7:00 p.m. 1111 Humanities
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Obama’s like the secret love child of JFK and MLK.
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Supposedly there’s a message of “hope” and “change”… what is this hope for? and what will change? We can speak all day in abstract concepts devoid of any real meaning, but at the end of the day, what will Obama do to improve the lives of students, minorities, the poor, etc? The Dems have repeatedly shown that they can offer nothing but “At least we’re not Bush” for a platform. And hell, look at what the candidates are doing to represent us in the Senate: NOTHING. They’re dropping the ball as important votes come up. I would have voted for Obama in 2004, when he was progressive. Now, he’s talking about invading Iran? He’s bought out by special interests and won’t do anything for “change.”
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12:43, If us democrats wanted drastic change, we’d exalt Denny Kucinich. However, seeing that most of us are only slightly left-of-center, we’d like to see incremental change. This type of change can be thought of as a burrito from Qdoba.
Currently, we’ve been eating our burritos without salsa (Bush), but it has become boring and unsatisfying with day after day of flavorless “death to our enemies/ tax-cut and spend/ favor the wealthy” policy.
Now, we have to choose what kind of change we’d like, this time in the metaphoric form of salsa. Do we want mild (Clinton), verde (Obama), or dare burn our mouths with Kucinich extra-hot?
Or, perhaps you’re of the concervative persuasion and would like to enhance your buritto’s flavor: mayonnaise, catsup, or pickles seem to be your only choice.
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A better analogy: Bush is a poisonous Burrito. Democrats seem to think that Bush is merely bland, yet they’re not the ones hungry in the cities, dying in Iraq, losing their jobs. Party activists are in the comfortable upper-middle class that doesn’t actually suffer from disastrous Bush policies, and are happy with lame cosmetic changes like Clinton or Obama. The rest of us are largely unhappy with any of the upper-class, Ivy League politicians we’re offered, but settle for the politician of either persuasion we think will screw us the least. Neither party seems to understand that, or doesn’t care as long as they can manage some support under the two party system. That’s why neither the Greens nor Libertarians won’t ever see success.
We’re all starving, and our choice ultimately is between bland burritos. We’ll choose the one we guess will make us the least sick. (and no, I’m not conservative)
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And Ron Paul would be the burrito that looks and smells really good before but gives you terrible diarrhea a week later.