Clinton campaign reaches out to young voters

Chelsea Clinton's visit to Cape Girardeau on Sunday gave 20-somethings -- even the Ron Paul supporters -- a chance to be heard.

At Grace Cafe, Clinton spoke to the audience of about 130 for an hour. Her appearance is part of an effort to involve young voters in the presidential elections.

Most had only heard about the event a few days before, and about half of the crowd raised their hands when asked if they were Southeast Missouri students. Some, like 24-year-old Jon Lowrant, were undecided voters looking for information.

"I think this is really that grassroots, small-town campaigning, and that shows a lot of effort," Lowrant said. "And for me, being an undecided voter, being able to hear someone close to the Hillary campaign right now is pretty important to me and makes me feel connected more to the process."

"It's all part of an effort to speak out to and reach out to young voters who might be looking for information on her mom," said Emily Hawkins, youth outreach director for the Clinton campaign. "It's really valuable information coming from someone who's right there in their age bracket and who clearly knows a lot about the policies and the candidate."

Although Clinton spent most of her time interacting with the audience and fielding questions on issues -- including health care, No Child Left Behind and a troop withdrawal plan -- she did take a few moments to invite the gathering of 18 supporters of Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, inside.

Inside, Clinton discussed her mother's plans to double the size of Pell grants, do away with FAFSA forms and let students pay back student loans by going into public services.

"Being here and hearing the heartbeat of what's going on is something that I really appreciate," said Robby Britt, 27. "I'm undecided to this point, but being here and being able to discuss opinions and viewpoints with Chelsea and others is a great opportunity for good discussion. We need this more often."

Hawkins said Clinton connects so well with young voters because she is "humanizing" and connects easily with a younger generation who normally uses the Internet for its information. Already, MySpace.com, YouTube.com and campaign sites like hillblazers.com (the Clinton campaign Web site) are becoming an integral part of the process for voters, especially young voters.

"This is important because most of us don't really get to go to the cities where these people speak," said Jen Lowrance, 24. "I've heard Chelsea speak on TV or online, but this is way different because we get to exchange ideas."

And as she left, Clinton let loose one last thought with the coffee shop crowd: "Please participate and have your voices heard. There is a lot of hype about young people participating, and I hope they are right."