From Jim Eskin, Public Affairs Stratagist ....................... ........................... April 2008

Give me a break! How disappointing to watch party officials in Florida and Michigan and the DNC fail to flesh out some type of solution so voters in those pivotal states can participate in the presidential nominating process. This is a bad mistake and can only come back to hurt the Democratic Party and erode faith in our democratic system.

It shouldn't be so hard. There can be variations on three kinds of contests-a traditional primary, a caucus, and a mail-in vote. Sure, it will take money, but in today's political environment, millions of dollars are raised every day.

Have you been watching HBO's "John Adams" miniseries? It shows how our Founders wrestled with and resolved much more difficult issues.

I propose this: Lock Florida and Michigan party leaders in a room and don't them out until they've devised re-vote plans for their respective states. In this historic election, voters in every state should have their say.

SUPER CONTROVERSY
The Democratic rank-and-file is fairly evenly divided between those saying super delegates should vote for the candidate with the most delegates after all the primaries and caucuses are run, and those saying super delegates should vote for the candidate they believe would make the better president. Clinton and Obama supporters take opposing views on the matter.

In a Gallup Poll, 50% believe super delegates should side with the voters and choose the leader in the delegate count, while 45% believe super delegates should vote their consciences and cast their ballots for the candidate they think would be the better president.

Clearly, the odds are Obama will have more delegates at the time of the convention, and the data suggest that Democrats are aware of this, and respond accordingly. By a 2-to-1 margin (64% to 32%), Democrats who support Obama believe super delegates should vote for the candidate with more pledged delegates. Meanwhile, Clinton supporters take the opposing view and say (by nearly the same margin, 60% to 35%) that super delegates should vote for the candidate they think would be the better president.

AGE BIAS DECLINES
Here's evidence that the American people are growing more comfortable with the notion of an older president.

Twenty-seven percent of Americans in February 1996 said Bob Dole, then 72, was too old to be president. By comparison, 20% in the Gallup poll this year say John McCain, 71, is too old.

There is a partisan difference in perceptions of the impact of McCain's age. Twenty-eight percent of Democrats say McCain is too old to be president, compared with 11% of Republicans.

VOTING IS HIP
The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement reports that more than 3 million eligible citizens under 30 participated in the February 5th Super Tuesday contests. Over 2 million young people participated in the Democratic contests compared to roughly 900,000 in the Republican contests.

Of the eight states that were also part of Super Tuesday in 2000, seven saw increases in youth turnout, and in some of these states youth turnout tripled or quadrupled.

In the Democratic contests, Obama won the largest share of the youth vote in 10 Super Tuesday states. Clinton won the youth vote in three states (Mass., Calif. and Ark.).

In the Republican contests, youth support varied by state.

The results punctuate findings of national focus groups showing that college students are deeply concerned about issues, involved personally as volunteers, and ready to consider voting. But they want political leaders to be positive, to address real problems, and to call on all Americans to be constructively involved.

PRESIDENTS VS. MAYORS
Do Americans demand different things from a president than they do from their mayors? Are the issues the same? Ipsos Public Affairs concludes:

• Problems at the national level are very different than problems at the local level.

• At the national level, public opinion is most worried about two issues which tie in a statistical dead heat: the war in Iraq (21%) and the economy (20%).

• In contrast, the local agenda is dominated by "bread and butter" issues, such as taxes (21%), transportation (19%), crime (18%) and education (14%).

• Distinctive from the national agenda, demands at the local level are much more heterogeneous, ranging across a variety of day-to-day issues.

LOCKED UP
For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison-a fact that significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety.

The Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project reports that 2,319,258 adults are being held in American prisons or jails. Over the past year, the prison population rose by more than 25,000 inmates.

As prison populations expand, costs to states are on the rise. Last year alone, states spent more than $49 billion on corrections, up from $11 billion 20 years before.

NEW MENTAL ILLNESS
Compulsive e-mailing and text messaging could soon become classified as an official brain illness.

The American Journal of Psychiatry says Internet addiction-which includes "excessive gaming, sexual pre-occupations and e-mail/text messaging"-is a common compulsive-impulsive disorder, and that it should be added to psychiatry's official guidebook of mental disorders.

This is no laughing matter. It can cause people to lose all track of time or neglect "basic drives" (eating, sleeping, etc.). Relapse rates are high, and some people may actually need psychoactive medications or hospitalization.

I'm guilty (or sick)! How about you?

POWER AND INFLUENCE
When you think of Washington D.C. and the power corridors, smoke filled rooms and shady deals with lobbyists likely come to mind. There are certain groups in particular which are singled out by large majorities of the American public as having too much power in those corridors.

Leading the Harris Poll list are big companies-86% of Americans say they have too much power and influence in Washington. These are followed by PACs that give money to political candidates; 83% of Americans cite them as having too much power and influence.

IN THE PRESS WE DON'T TRUST
During this political primary season, media-especially cable news networks-have seen a large increase in viewers, listeners and/or readers. But do people actually trust the media?

The answer is not really. Looking at the press in general, in a Harris Poll, 54% of Americans indicate they tend not to trust them, with only 30% tending to trust the press. Just under half (46%) say they do not trust television, while 36% do trust them.

Somewhat surprisingly, Internet news and information sites do slightly better as a plurality of Americans (41%) trust them, while just one-third tend not to trust them. Radio appears to do best among Americans as 44% say they tend to trust it and 32% tend not to trust radio.

ALL-TIME FLICKS
With another Oscars ceremony behind us, it's fitting that we ponder the favorite movies of all time.

At number one in a Harris Poll is the classic Civil War epic, "Gone With the Wind." Number two is "Star Wars," and rounding out the top three, somewhere a beautiful friendship is beginning in "Casablanca."

My favorite? The original "Ocean's Eleven," starring Frank Sinatra and The Rat Pack, circa 1960.

COPING WITH CHANGE
This contradicts many long-held beliefs that as we grow older, we become more reluctant to change.

A GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media study indicates that the majority (65%) of working Americans aged 50+ are becoming more comfortable with change and uncertainty as they grow older.

In fact, half say they are at their best during times of change and many say that change is exciting (50%). It further finds that attitudes towards change in general can serve as a way of differentiating pre-retirees and identifies four key segments based on their "change profiles"-Venturers, Adapters, Anchoreds and Pursuers.

STATE REPORT CARD QUIZ
The Pew Center for the States evaluates and grades each state government's performance in serving the public on a range of areas, from budget and finance to roads and bridges. Match the following states with their grade. Answers are presented below. See you next month.

Answers: 1=d, 2=e, 3=c, 4=b, 5=a.

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