In 2008 and 2012, millennials — voters between ages 18 and 30 — came out in a big way for Barack Obama.
If a recent Quinnipiac University poll is right, something’s changed. The poll has young voters disapproving of the president by a 54 percent to 36 percent margin.
We aren’t surprised, and we don’t blame them. Maybe they have finally figured out that they are the ones who will inherit the debt for President Obama’s spending, who are being forced to buy health insurance to pay for ObamaCare’s benefits to others and whose job prospects have considerably dimmed because of the president’s pro-tax, pro-spending, anti-business policies.
Even in terms of personal honesty, Obama’s taking a hit. Only 43 percent of the under-30s say the president is honest and trustworthy. By contrast, a majority — 51 percent — say he’s not.
Sixty percent of young voters disapprove of the way the president’s handling the economy. Fifty-six percent disapprove of Obama’s handling of health care. Fifty-three percent disapprove of his handling of foreign policy.
And remember all those pundits who told us the GOP has turned off youth? The same Q poll reports that millennials are now more inclined to trust congressional Republicans on key issues such as health care.
In 2008, Barack Obama said he was “bringing in a whole new generation of voters.” Now that generation seems to be sending him a new message: It’s not just college or a new home we can’t afford. We can’t afford you, Mr. President!