The numbers conveying that anxiety are stark. A survey released this month by the Pew Research Center found that just 48 percent of young voters - those 18 to 29 years old - say Obama makes them feel hopeful, compared with 81 percent in November 2008.
There are also signs that this group has begun to feel cynical about the impact of its vote: While 73 percent said that voting gave them a say in government shortly after Obama took office, only 63 percent now agree with that. Such a figure could be a harbinger of lagging turnout, always a question with this age group.
Most tellingly, even though most young voters still identify themselves as Democrats, they believe Republicans have as much a chance to solve the job problem as do Democrats.
There was little such ambivalence three years ago. The youthful dynamism surrounding Obama’s “Yes We Can’’ campaign then had not been seen since the 1972 presidential election, the first time 18 year olds could vote. Young Americans backed Obama in record numbers, voting 2-to-1 for him over Republican John McCain.
But it was more than a matter of votes.
“There was just a huge amount of energy,’’ said Matt Rodriguez, the New Hampshire state director for Obama’s 2008 campaign. “We had more young people than we knew what to do with. He touched a nerve with them, and we got kids from all over the country who came to work for him.’’
At least 95 percent of the campaign’s employees were under 30, former campaign manager David Plouffe wrote in his book “The Audacity to Win,’’ and students made up a significant portion of the donor pool. Above all else, they provided the pulse of the Obama phenomenon, making phone calls, knocking on doors, registering new voters.
“Right now, it’s hard to see where that magic is going to come from,’’ Patterson said.
