Can an older, white Republican attract young voters?
CHICAGO (AP) — He’s a Republican, for starters. He describes himself as “older than dirt.” And he makes no apology for an Iraq war that is especially unpopular on college campuses. Doesn’t sound like a recipe for winning the hearts of young voters. And yet John McCain has vowed to make a serious play for the 18- to 29-year-old crowd that’s often identified with “Obama-mania.” Could the 71-year-old grandfather possibly have a shot? Several polls, including a recent AP-Ipsos survey, show Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton faring far better with that age bracket when pitted individually against McCain. But in the last month or so, there’ve been blips in McCain’s favor. One recent AP-Yahoo News poll found that 38 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds supported McCain, while 37 percent were for Obama. When pitted against Clinton, it was McCain 43 percent, Clinton 28 percent. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. The varying outcomes may indicate the difficult
