It always seems as Election Day looms closer, candidates and their campaigns rush to gain the votes of certain groups. Obviously, they want the votes of the "undecided." Gaining these votes is the key to winning the election. However, there always is an effort to appeal to religious groups. Religion affects the way people vote. That's all there is to it. This means that candidates have to relate to the religious whether they themselves share the same religious views or not. I wrote before about the campaigns trying to gain Catholic votes. This article deals with the efforts of younger Jews to convince the older Jewish community to vote for Obama. Sometimes, having the support of at least a section of a religious community can help to sway the rest of the group to a candidate' s side.
The article I read discussed a Web video made by Sarah Silverman telling young Jews to go to Florida to tell their grandparents to vote for Obama. The question now was whether or not anyone would actually go to Florida. Some did, but many did not. However, other young people who could not make the trip still contacted family members by phone to tell them to cast their ballots in favor of Obama.
I thought this story was fun and lighthearted, but it had an important message at its core. Young people have a lot of influence in the world. I know it doesn't always seem this way, but it's true. We have the potential to greatly influence the election if we would just take the time to vote. Why do you think there are Web videos posted telling young voters to talk to their grandparents? Why do you think teen clothing stores sell t-shirts telling us "to vote or die?" I thought this article did a very good job of presenting a larger issue in a way that was more digestible for its readers.
This article was actually pretty funny. Because the movement to get the younger Jews to talk to the older Jews was called the "Great Schlep," the writer frequently used the word "schlep" throughout the story. It spiced up the language a bit. There were other funny parts involving voters with "nipple rings." My only complaint about the comments about nipple rings is that the reporter said "many of those without nipple rings seem resistant to the youthful charms of Mr. Obama and their own grandchildren." I didn't think this comment was necessary. The quote about nipple rings that was said by one of the people in charge of the Great Schlep was colorful, but I thought this comment by the writer was too editorial.
The reporter mostly talked to people in favor of Obama or those involved with the Great Schlep. I think it was important that the article at least had one person who was not in favor of Obama or the effort. The reporter probably could have talked to even more people who shared this viewpoint, but at least the article did say that the effort has made a good start, without having accomplished a lot. I felt it was pretty clear that the article supported the effort, but at least it didn't bend the truth about its success.
Overall, I did really like reading this article. It was entertaining but informative at the same time, which is basically what I would want from any article I read.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/us/politics/14schlep.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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I feel like I should have seen this video, or that I needed to, to get as much as I could out of Cave's article, but I agree with you that it was entertaining and informative. The "schlep" use was funny, and the overall tone of the piece was warm and funny, while still being a news piece.
I also agree with you on your point of the importance of getting various sources. Perhaps this is just me assuming things, but it's been my experience that older people love to share their opinions with you, regardless of whether or not you want to hear it. This in turn makes me wonder why Cove didn't find even more sources that would speak out against the "Great Schlep."
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