Americans FIRED up — and ready to vote

[babylonsister]

Americans revved up — and ready to vote

By Susan Page and William Risser, USA TODAY


WASHINGTON — American voters, to borrow a candidate's phrase, are fired up and ready to go.

Turnout in the opening Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary this month smashed records. By 2-1, those surveyed in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll say they're more enthusiastic than usual about voting this year. Nine in 10 say it makes a difference to them who is elected president.

With the stakes high and the country's direction up for grabs, voters are poised to continue a rebound in Election Day turnout that began after dipping to a historic low in 1996, when barely over half of those eligible to vote bothered to go to the polls. High levels of interest are reshaping the races in both parties, boosting candidates who have reached out to new voters at the expense of those who targeted the ranks of the tried-and-true.

"I hate to say it, but (in past elections) I'd vote if I was available or my schedule allowed it or I remembered," says Sara Koscura, 28, a Republican and attorney in upstate Watertown, N.Y., who was among those surveyed. "Voting wasn't a high priority, but this year it is."

She supports Arizona Sen. John McCain, who won easily in New Hampshire over the better-funded Mitt Romney after pulling independent voters to the Republican primary. In Iowa, Romney's superior organization lost to Mike Huckabee, who drew a flood of conservative Christians to the caucuses.

The broadest outreach to young and independent voters has been by Democrat Barack Obama — who coined the phrase about voters being "fired up."

more...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-16-engaged-voters_N.htm

[gratuitous]

1. Fired up to preserve the status quo!

At least, that's the line that was fed to us in 2004. When people stood in line for hours in Ohio in lousy weather, the major media concluded that it was because they were so enamored with the firm hand of George W. Bush at the helm of the American ship of state. Which is why Ohio narrowly went for Bush, providing him with the margin of electoral vote victory.

And of course, the first person that USA Today can find to interview about being fired up is . . . a 28-year-old Republican attorney, who is voting for John McCain. Yeah, that'll change everything!

[babylonsister]

2. Just dump a bucket of cold water on me, why doncha?

Well, I'm fired up, and it has nothing to do with McCain! :D I just like the idea of people being inspired to vote. I realize that's because the US has come to the end of its rope, but at least people don't seem as apathetic as they usually do.

[gratuitous]

3. Sorry Sistah

What I meant to do was to put out the story that if the voters are fired up, it's because they are looking for something else. And "something else" doesn't include John McCain - he's more of the same. No, "something else" means a Democrat in the White House, and turning our backs on eight years of corrupt Republican misrule that brought our country down to the depths of justifying torture and defending dictatorship and represssion.