A few weeks ago, Hillary Clinton made an appearance on “Ellen” in which she attempted to relate to voters (especially young ones) by dancing the Whip Nae Nae. Around the same time, Jeb Bush made a similar attempt by appearing on Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show,” which included his impersonation of Donald Trump. This phenomenon of politicians making such appeals to voters is not a very new one — Bill Clinton played the saxophone on “The Arsenio Hall Show” in 1992. While such appearances may be seen as nothing more than superficial attempts to pull at young voters which lack meaningful discourse, voting participation rates among millennials are at such a low that anything with the potential to increase their likelihood to actively participate in the political process should be encouraged.
The timing of these candidates’ appeals to young voters could not have been better. Declining poll numbers for both Clinton and Bush point to a sense that neither can relate to voters, and that they lack the “personal pizazz,” as Sally Kohn put it, essential to an effective presidential campaign. It may seem shallow for interest in a political candidate for a position such as president to involve what could be described as a personality contest. However, as the highest elected office in the country, it is only natural for charisma and charm to play an important role in campaigns so candidates can reach the voting base necessary to be successful in their pursuit of the Oval Office.
These personality appeals also help make politicians seem less rigid, attempting to encourage younger people, who consider themselves more socially conscious than older generations, to take a more active role in politics. Even with this type of campaigning having become quite common in the past few years, a report from Tufts University found that in 2014, youth voter turnout fell to its lowest level on record. Specifically, only 19.9 percent of 18-29 voters casting ballots last fall, down from 29.3 percent for the same age range in 1978.
Part of the reason for this drop can be attributed to many millennials feeling abandoned by our political institutions and distrusting the government due to their status, according to the Pew Research Center, as “the first generation in recent memory to experience higher levels of student debt, poverty, and unemployment than the two generations before them.” This is such the case that, according to the Harvard Political Review, 52 percent reported they would recall and replace every member of Congress. Additionally, at least 22 states passed laws that made it more difficult for eligible voters to vote between 2010 and 2014. These included more restrictive lists of acceptable identification (including the exclusion of student IDs), shorter voting hours, ending same-day voter registration and prohibitions on out-of-precinct voting.
Antics such as Clinton’s “Ellen” appearance could be contributing to their irritation with politics. The most circulated part of the interview is a GIF of her dancing — something her campaigning team was certainly aware would happen. In such vain attempts to seem more hip, candidates could turn young voters off by making them feel as though they are viewed as nothing more than an easy demographic to add to their numbers and shallow enough that they would support a candidate due to something as superficial as an awkward dance. Still, Clinton did participate in some meaningful dialogue, discussing how being a woman gives her a different perspective which adds to her qualifications, so the appearance was not completely unsubstantive.
Since true pandering would involve a complete lack of discourse, efforts to reach young voters, such as those by Clinton and Bush, still have some value to them by aiming to meet younger generations in spaces they already frequent. The challenge for these candidates when attempting appeals such as these is ensuring that the more entertaining aspects of them do not overshadow the more substantive.
In this sense, Clinton’s appearance on “Ellen” fails to impress young voters in a meaningful way due to the fact that the GIF of her dancing has been circulated so much more than the clip of her discussing her experiences as a woman in politics. Although these appearances may have not been necessarily effective, they were not completely meaningless in that they were at least efforts to meet young voters.
It is true much of the attention garnered by politicians in their attempts to relate to young voters may result in mostly superficial involvement, as is suggested by low rates of political participation among young voters. However, when done in a way that does not treat different demographics unfairly or involve the more superficial aspects overshadowing those more substantial, politicians’ antics to appeal to young voters could be beneficial by stirring the pot among millennials in how they view and engage in politics.
Alyssa Imam is a Viewpoint writer.
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