Politics

Scandal Turns Off Young Voters

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

November 2, 1998 / 10:28 AM EST / CBS

For many young Americans, the 1996 election was a time to be proud. They turned out to vote in record numbers and helped re-elect President Clinton.

"I hope that you will always be proud for the rest of your lives that you were here today and tonight," the president told attendees at MTV's '96 inaugural ball.

And for a time, that's exactly how young voters felt. "The excitement of finally voting for the first presidential candidate that I could vote for was really interesting. It was like a whole new experience for me," one young voter says.

"He certainly inspired me," says another, who was 19 at the time. "I worked on the 1992 campaign. I was really charged up. I'm like, yes, Clinton is our president."

Now, six years later, those first-time voters have watched the presidential sex scandal unfold. And their feelings about the president and what they accomplished with their vote aren't as clear.

"He did, in a sense, betray us," says voter Edward Paige.

"A lot of young people are disappointed, upset," says Dave Sirulnick, vice president of MTV News. "There is a great deal of resentment and, hey, I voted for you. You were supposed to be the man. What did you do? Why did you do this?"

"This experience with Clinton has taught me a lesson that I would evaluate my candidates choice a little more closely in the future," Clinton supporter Taya Grobow says.

Ironically, the man who brought young Americans into the political process may have again adjusted some attitudes, but not in a positive way.

"It's a little sadder," Paige says. "I don't think you can really achieve much in politics any more."

That, some Democrats fear, may not bode well for voter turnout on Tuesday, or even 2000.