(CNN) – The youngest and oldest voters in South Dakota’s Democratic primary overwhelmingly support their candidate – but as in many contests this primary season, both groups have landed on opposite sides of the Democratic divide, according to early exit polls.
The youngest voters, those aged 18-29, supported Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, 65 to 35 percent. Voters 65 and older had the exact same level of support for Clinton, voting for her 65-35 percent over Obama.
It’s a problem that’s plagued Obama all year: how to make his case to seniors, who have been critical to Democratic presidential hopes in past campaigns. Can he win them over by November?
From CNN Politics
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sure he will have an older running mate like Webb who can win over older voters.
It means the young people need to show up if they want change, because the old folks always vote. Change takes action and commitment.
I think Clinton's divisive rhetoric hasn't helped the party at all, and hopefully the 65+ crowd will see beyond her opportunistic appeals to pit them against Obama in this primary. After all, he supports their issues as much, if not more, than she does.
But if not, then young people need to out work and out vote them in the fall.
Why is it not that voters over 65 is a problem that has plagued Obama all year. It would seem to me that Hillary also has a problem plaguing her - voters between the age of 18-29.
This picture shows how little people care about their kids exactly when you put a sticker on the skin of a baby. That not right. Love your baby don't share unknown chemical through the skin of a child....
If Hillary isn't the VP, then I will vote Green Party, or Ralph Nader.
As a Clinton supporter I think tonight should just be Obama's night. I do not think she should make any public statement regarding asking to be considered for the vp spot. It just adds to what some people think about the Clintons being pushy,etc. It is a shame that because of non Democratic states like:Alaska,Wyoming,Idaho,Utah etc we are nominating the one person who i honestly think will not be elected. I wish I was wrong.
Yeah ok "newly independant"… check you DB again
I do believe that the generational gap exists but I hope that once we have a nominee that it won't matter.
5 MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Obama 08
Why would someone do that to that poor helpless child!? Branded with the mark of an idiot.
Hillary should iron Obama's shirt!
I just want to congratulate ALL the newsmen at CNN, MSMBC thay have pushed through another "accomplished nothing" person to become President beause they think everyone wants to sit down and and I have a beer with him, gushing over him and can't say a complete sentence without saying his name 2 or 3 times and seemingly haveing a sexual moment
I WILL NEVER VOTE FOR SOMEONE THAT HAS BEEN SELECTED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY SUPER DELEGATES or the Supreme Court. Been there, done that back in 2000. Don't they remember that Gore WON, he had the most votes. These parties are just alike, party first, country second.
I'll be changing my affiliation to party line very, very soon.
I hope Obama loses, just to teach a lesson. But they are too "smart" to learn anything.
David,
the older generation, my parents included can't really explain why they are skittish about Obama. His policies are very similar to Hillary's. He has conducted a brilliant campaign. He, like many of the older generation, came from a very modest upbringing with a single mother and made something of himself. Is it possible that the older generation is intolerant or perhaps harbors some latent racism? I really have to wonder what it is. Hillary and Obama are both excellent candidiates. What else explains this animosity towards Obama from the Clinton supporters. Perhaps you older people can learn a thing or two from the younger people. They are a new generation that is not afraid to mingle with other races and cultures. Times have changed. Perhaps you are afraid of that.
As one who frequents CNN.com I must say it is amusing that there are obviously people who misrepresent themselves when posting comments in order to try and divide the other side of their issue. A) How can you sleep at night? B) If you can't make a case for your side with transparency- is it really worthy of supporting in the first place?
STOP THIS HOGWASH, this all will soon come to an END.
ALL democrats will soon be supporting Sen. Obama, it's NOT about Sen. Clinton anymore. She is NOT the focus here. It's about what's BEST for the country and a national poll clearly stated that Sen. Obama should NOT offer the VP position to Sen. Clinton.
I agree, there are a lot of other candidates who can bring the same factors to the table. Sen. Clinton is NOT the only option for Sen. Obama. Everyone is trying to FORCE Sen. Obama in picking Sen. Clinton. I don't think he should based on the pressure being put on him. HE has EARNED the right to pick WHO HE FEELS HE CAN TRUST and WHO BRINGS THE BEST QUALITIES TO HIS ADMINISTRATION.
Sen. Obama is about change, Sen. Clinton was not. But it's truly up to Sen. Obama to decide.
Cannot and will not vote for that sly sleazy racist Obama. He is not fit to lead this great country.
I am happy to support and contribute and campaign for McCain -
all for Hillary '12. Don't go on his ticket Hillary, don't do it.
Vote for Republicans... Vote for Division... Vote for 100 years of War... vote for Tax Cuts that cannot help fund thie 100 year war.... Vote for Ignorance speaking abroad....
Vote democrat.
Obama/Webb '08
I'm inspired by Obama and would vote Democrat for the first time in my life. However, if Clinton is on the ticket my vote will be Republican.
Dear darling Senator McCain, here we come. I will never vote for a jerk and his silly wife who hates America, and I expect Obama does also. You obama idiots are going to be so sorry.
COME ON PEOPLE LETS GET BEHIND THE NOMINEE
If Obama is smart, he will offer Hillary the VP spot. There is no other way at this point to pull the party back together, young or old.
I've been listening to all the various commentators references on how much Obama might need Hillary to win this election, blah, blah, blah. It is becoming increasingly hard for me to understand why? Did he need her to beat her? There seems to be an extreme lack of confidence in a young man who has done the impossible to continue on doing just that. He does not need her, she needs him. To me, her stating that "she would be open" to being the VP is just another desperate ploy to get in the white house. But in my mind it was the people that got him there, not Hillary. All her incendiary remarks have not weaken him or swayed his stance. Her trying to cash in on his success is a non-interest to the public at large no matter how much it is catered to. In our minds, "stick a fork in it, she's done." Now, the game is on and it's the time for Obama to bring it and take McShame down. Honestly speaking, McShame catering to the psychos of Hillary's support is all for the good. That only means that they were not democrates to begin with. They were people with hidden agendas who really did not care about the course of making a difference. Being a democrate I can say this, because if Hillary had won, even though not my personal choice, there is no way I would have given it to another party.
This craze over Obama is unbelievable. The man did nothing in his voting career except vote "present" on many issues. Now all of a sudden, he is fit to be president? He has no experience that would make him a great president, his war policies are naive and presumptive. It sort of reminds me of the Britney Spears craze, the country went nuts over her, the paparazzi swarmed her, and look where it all led to. Are there really that many naive idiots in this country? I guess so...
If not Hillary, then McCain, he is the lesser of the two EVILS.
No, he will not win them over because they see through him...he would get rid of them if he could..it's another sci-fi becoming reality.
At roughly 6:45 ET tonight, PBS's evening news hour reported that Senator Barack Obama went over the "magic number" (2118) of delegates needed to claim the Democratic presidential nomination. He went over with superdelegates, and a new total of 2123.
Minutes later Fox News reported the same story, and NPR affiliates were not far behind. AP had actually broken the story PBS reported.
However, the evening news casts on the air at the time on all three major networks - ABC, NBC, and CBS - were mysteriously silent. MSNBC and CNN continued for the next 45 minutes to report Obama as lacking 10 delegates.
Why? Obama had planned a stagecraft to occur after the polls closed at 8PM ET in South Dakota, and the news agencies were cooperating with the fiction that elected delegates and not superdelegates had put him over the magic number.