Young Americans: Optimistic On ... Iraq?!

Mo Rocca has appeared on a bunch of shows, including 'The Daily Show,' 'I Love the 80s,'...

Mo Rocca Feed

Young Americans: Optimistic On ... Iraq?!

Posted Jun 27th 2007 12:09AM by Mo Rocca
Filed under: Iraq, Politics, Hillary Clinton, Military, Abortion, gay marriage, Illegal Immigration, Mo Rocca, New York Times

Plenty of people will mock the headline of The New York Times' polling piece: "New Poll Finds That Young Americans Are Leaning Left." They shouldn't. What's laid out in the piece isn't all that obvious.

The results of the poll are interesting and confirm one thing I've learned from visiting lots of college campuses (other than that I didn't have nearly enough fun when I was actually in college): young adults are energetic, discerning, healthily skeptical, sometimes pessimistic - but not cynical. They don't skulk around with permanent sneers on their faces. They don't lack faith in anything higher than themselves. They don't automatically suspect that authority figures are motivated by the worst in human nature.

The poll jibes with much of conventional wisdom: On a host of issues, including immigration and universal health care, younger Americans are to the left of the country at large. They're already more favorable to gay marriage than the rest of America and moving steadily more so in that direction. (This makes sense since opponents of gay marriage have yet to offer any sensible objection beyond fear of cooties.)On Abortion - and this is often overlooked - their feelings are consistent with the rest of the country - i.e., the battle line is not about to shift or blur any time soon. That's probably why both parties will downplay their positions or at least soften their language on the issue, like Hillary Clinton did when she described abortion as a "sad, even tragic choice" for some.

As far as the direction the country is headed, younger Americans are concerned. Okay, that's putting it lightly. They're pessimistic: 70% say we're headed in the wrong direction; 48% believe that they'll be worse off than their parents. And yet...they're following the presidential race in a big way and believe their votes will make an important difference. (Whether or not they make it to the polls is another question.) Can someone be pessimistically optimistic?

But here's the big surprise for me: 51% of young Americans believe we're very or somewhat likely to succeed in Iraq. That's higher than the 45% of all Americans who believe the same. It simply could be that young Americans have more confidence in our military might.

But I think that's only part of it. I think that younger Americans have more faith than the rest of the country in the motives and intentions of the military and political leadership that sent our troops over there. They don't possess the knee-jerk institutional distrust often ascribed to them. Are they wise? Only time will tell. But right now one thing's clear: They're not cynical.

Permalink
Email this
Linking Blogs
Comments [53]
Share this
- Add this post to...
- Netscape
- Digg
- Del.icio.us

Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 4)

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

1. teI found real hot Britney Spears Nude video :) Enjoy..
..
http://sexy-tube-world.net/view.php?Britney_Spears_Nude
..
..

refnbbyfat at 4:16PM on Jan 23rd 2009

2. ynI found Extreme Britney Spears Nude video :) Enjoy..
..
http://sexy-tube-world.net/view.php?Britney_Spears_Nude
..
..

yphfyumgsm at 10:28AM on Jan 24th 2009

3. Well Mo, I myself am a college student and have a 3.8 grade point average. I may not have the grand Harvard education you do, but in my personal opinion, I think the war in Iraq isn't going anywhere. Of course, one could easily describe it as another Vietnam debacle but I won't go that route. However, I think it's good that some of our youth has faith in our mighty military. Now if they were in the military itself that might be another story but for the most part, it's good to support whatever country we've invading, at least before they start drafting little Johnny into the service.

Perhaps our youth has become desensitized to all the CNN-fed footage of car bombs to blown out buildings that it doesn't strike much of a chord anymore. Perhaps our youth is more concerned on other things (beer pong anyone?) than the flops of the Bush Administration and that the military or the democrats will figure it out in the long run.

But like you've noted, young Americans are far more accepting of homosexuals than that of the crusty baby boomer dinosaurs who still look down on the issue of same sex marriage and all the awful cootie infections it would bring about. We're a new America, a changing America, and a growing America. Too bad we have a complete clusterf*** of a race to the White House. Today's youth needs a fine democrat stallion (or mare if we're talking Hillary) to lead them into the forefront of tomorrow. Rudy will also do as the Republican pony if elected. He's got a good eye for visual art that's non-crap related if you catch my drift.

To conclude, maybe there is hope for the war and perhaps things may turn out well. Our youth is trendy enough to know the difference between a good war and a bad war. Well, maybe not but why dwell on the negatives? Plenty of other places to invade like Iran. We might just win there, or start a nuclear winter.

I love the End of the World: Strikes Back!
Your friend Blayze "Shaggy" O'Brien from the Bee

bobrien at 1:55AM on Jun 27th 2007

4. I’m afraid you're right that “Plenty of people will mock the headline of The New York Times' polling piece: ‘New Poll Finds That Young Americans Are Leaning Left.’” Indeed, the Times quickly glosses over the fact that young folks are more optimistic than the rest of Americans (51% vs. 45%) that we’re likely to succeed in Iraq.

Check out my blog post on this: http://www.campusprogress.org/page/community/post/zachmarks/C2lN

Zach Marks at 2:07AM on Jun 27th 2007

5. Young Americans know more about Paris Hilton's legal status than Iraq. They're not cynical, they just don't care that much. The optimism is a very practical form of denial. Who could blame them? Even politicians can't give consistent reasons and objectives for the war. Journalists struggle to explain the differences between prime ministers and presidents, Sunni and Shia. If you are faced with a situation you can't control or understand, you can either hope for the best or disintegrate. Not surprisingly, young people chose the former.

bob Bobson at 2:21AM on Jun 27th 2007

6. okay, Im a college freshman. Heres my outlook.
"51% of young Americans believe we're very or somewhat likely to succeed in Iraq"-Mo., Succeed at what I ask? What is this war in Iraq? Bush is an idiot.
He went looking for weapons of mass destruction and they werent there so "ooops" my bad. Iraq is Vietnam, its just the US sticking its nose where it doesnt belong.
And I know Hussein was "psycho" and what he did to his people was beyond tragic but the US(Bush) needs to realize we cant govern the world. When you're elected into office you're elected to one country.
Im terrified as hell because Japan, Russia, Germany, Im not ready to die. I know these are old articles but..... http://www.casi.org.uk/discuss/2002/msg01348.html

How many troops really have to die before Bush's real mission is accomplished. What happens after we pull out anyway? Who runs their country? An "immigrant" in a foreign country, rrrright. Whos to say that it wont go back to how it was when Hussein was running it? If it does I would love nothing more than for someone to ask "President" Bush, What mission was accomplished?

*I seen a picture of him holding a sign that said mission accomplished while dressed in an army outfit, can someone tell me what that was.

NotSoInnocent at 2:53AM on Jun 27th 2007

7. I don’t think the issue here is that college students are more up-to-date on Paris’ prison experience compared to the war because I don’t think they know any less than the average “grown-up” either. When I was in college I never watched the news, never really tried to actively educate myself on world events, but still knew what was going on, more so than I do now. It was because of the collegiate environment, people around me were aware, and through some sort of vicarious osmosis I couldn’t help but learn about what was going on. The point to me is that they have hope for the war, or at the very least see the potential for a positive outcome; it’s not apathy if you have an opinion.

I think the point Mo was trying to make is that college students are stereotypically thought to be very liberal and left compared to the middle aged to elderly portion of our society. And since the left is so openly opposed to the war and has such a “pessimistic” view on its outcome, it seems contradictory that the average student disagrees with them. But his conclusion (if I may be so bold to assume) is that this trait isn’t indicative of hidden conservative behavior, but rather a difference in frame of mind, specifically optimism. According to the poll 70% think we’re moving in the wrong direction, so you could ascertain from that that they agree with their liberal elders in thinking the war is a bad idea. But where they differ is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, seeing hope that the war might still succeed, I believe this was the key point, and one that I agree with. Cynicism is something typically accrued with age, so it’s not completely surprising to hear about college students with optimism. But then again this is all just an opinion.

Kyle Williams at 3:20AM on Jun 27th 2007

8. What's the difference between being cynical and stupid? Cynical is one who has the evidence laid out before them and they don't want to believe. Stupid is one who refuses to open their eyes to the harsh reality because they believe or too afraid not to believe. Which one best reflects the views of our youth? When Black kids refuse to go to war, we have a problem. When our special forces leave and join "Blackwater" because they can make 10 times as much and we don't challenge this, we have a problem. When Bill Clinton's stain doesn't matter and sleeping with a President makes one qualified for the Oval Office, we have a problem. Am I cynical, stupid, or right? You bet I'm right.

Cecil Jones at 3:51AM on Jun 27th 2007

9. Institutions of higher learning in the U.S. are bastions of leftist ideology so it's no surprise that college students lean to the left. It's a tragedy that from the time our children enter school at age five until they graduate from college they have leftist propaganda shoved down their throats. Making it worse is that almost all of the mainstream media are nothing more than outlets for left-wing propaganda. On the war on terror, which includes Iraq, it's seems G.W. Bush is the only one who learned from Slick Willy Clinton's failure in Somalia and failure to respond to terrorism at all during his presidency. In the end I'd agree that in geeneral the younger one is the less pessimistic they are likely to be.

Robert Byngham at 4:07AM on Jun 27th 2007

10. I am continually amazed when the Bush haters lament Saddams ouster. My vavorite is "What does victory mean?" How many times must the brilliand liberals have it explained? First off, we are not at war with Iraq Its been years! Guess what..we won!

"But at least under Saddam there was no civil war!"

Yes, but under Hitler, we gained the Autoban and the VW. Do you want Hitler back too?

Our goal in Iraq is to get them up to speed.We are not at war with Iraq. Iraq is an ally. Unless you think the USA owns the mosques that butchers attack attack.

The war on terror will never end, just like the war on crime and the war on fire... wanna withdraw from fighting fire and fighting crime? Because we lose American lives fighting them.

Dewayne Donnelly at 4:23AM on Jun 27th 2007

11. Hi Mo -- the tragedy at VA Tech should have been an eye-opener for everyone to the great state of our youth. In my 70 years, I've never seen a class of kids with more common sense, more faith and more trust in their country. Never did they condemn the boy who did the deed; never did they react with the frenzy the media expected. Instead they turned to each other, to God and to their families. May God continue to bless them and our world.

maryann hayward at 8:48PM on Jun 27th 2007

12. Everyone YAY for liberal propaganda... Guess im cynical and stupid but I'll believe watever the hell I want.

Seth at 6:23AM on Jun 27th 2007

13. On the whole Gay Marriage crap. Mostly Christians oppose it, Because it's against our religion. But wait i forgot.. Nobody gives a flying fuck what Christians think! When i look at this quarter... this 5 dollar bill.. It says "In God We Trust"... wait.. wtf? Is that not refering to the Christian god? Nah .... We're a changing America... Praise Alah -(Forgive The spelling if its wrong.. because I know some loser will point it out.) - Praise Alah and lets all be gay! Spreading STD's through gay sex isnt just cooties... In my opinion thats where aids started.. Faggots having buttsex and that being a punishment from god - AIDS! But it's ok now it already started lets all have buttsex.... It's America you have the right to be free.. You can be gay. But expressing it through marriage really pisses Christians off and if you dont like that join the club of all the Atheist bastards who dont care about religion.

Thats a true teens opinion but who cares.. I'm a Christian.

Seth

Seth at 6:21AM on Jun 27th 2007

14. Hey that's seriously not funny Seth. I'm openly gay and if god doesnt like that forget him hes a jerk. Making all life and animals - Which liberals are willing to sacrifice their own people for. What a jerk! He just makes us suffer cause then we dont get to have buttsex and it feels really good. So screw you seth your a jerk! Buttsex feels great and you obviously have never tried it, go to http://www.89.com and see some real men take it and love it. Religion is bad it kills people, and makes it so gay people cant have sex. Thats why I'm an Atheist. And just cuz some dollar or quarter says in god we trust on it doesnt mean we can have buttsex or oral penis sex! thats not right!!! we have the right to marry and piss you off like all the other atheist "bastards" i chose to be gay cuz im ugly and girls dont like me.. but other men love my balls! - thats a true teens opinion!!!!!! -The Ben man, Whaley

Ben Whaley at 6:31AM on Jun 27th 2007

15. Wow. This blog wasn't half bad, until I read the responses to it. Yawn. I actually had something to say, until well, I read the above comments. I will stick with Fox News. I'll leave the endless Bush bashing for the rest of you. When you have something deeper than "Bush is an idiot" to contribute to the coversation, I'm all ears. Until then, I'm going to go follow the "clusterf*ck" race to the White House. For the first time in a long time, there are people worth listening to.

PS: I'm 26. Am I still considered a "young American."

lynmarie75 at 6:38AM on Jun 27th 2007

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

Mo's Video

The Sound of a Smoke-Free Barack...
Almost two years ago we speculated on how Barack Obama's voice would change if he stopped smoking. ...

Coming Soon

Most Commented On

Coming Soon

Mo's Bio

Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.