By Cody Chrusciel
Now that the landslide is complete and arguably the most historic election in our nation’s history has come to a close, the countdown is on until George W. Bush’s final day in the Oval Office.
Barack Obama will take office on January 20, 2009 and with that, millions of senior citizens across America wonder how much attention the 47-year old Junior Senator from Illinois will pay to their cries.
“I hadn’t heard a whole lot from the candidates about issues important to seniors such as health care, specifically Medicare,” said Jane Clifford, AARP’s Burlington County Coordinator for Advocacy Issues.
Clifford feels that during his campaign, Obama tried to make a connection with seniors. Still, she wonders how sincere it was.
“When Senator Obama talks about his childhood and how his family was so poor and things that he did with his grandfather and so on, I have a feeling that he’s sort of indirectly talking to the old folks to get their support. To show them that he’s a regular guy. I think that he and McCain, I don’t think that they’re totally plugged into what the issues are because of the fact that they’re living very well.”
Since senior citizens represent the largest registered voting demographic in America, it’s obvious that the majority of their support lied in Obama’s corner. Perhaps this is because of Obama’s vice presidential selection of Joe Biden.
“He seems like a regular guy,” said Jake Tallen, 73, of Paramus, NJ about Biden. Tallen is a self-proclaimed democrat who, this past Tuesday, cast his vote for the Democratic presidential slate largely because of Biden.
Biden will turn 66 on November 20, so his age is an asset in relating to the needs of the elderly. His humble roots can’t hurt either.
In a September New York Times article, Obama explained that he selected Biden to be his running mate because of his experience in foreign affairs and national security. One can not help but wonder whether age played a role in Obama’s decision.
Obama handily won both the senior vote and the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Biden is a Scranton, PA native who is popular among seniors, so it’s difficult to discount the role he played in helping Obama become the 44th president of the United States.
To check out Cody Chrusciel’s election preview story click on this link here.
