#5

I think technology has had a huge impact on the youth vote. "They can friend Barack Obama or John McCain on facebook. They can watch Youtube videos, they can make their own videos. They can have their voices heard in a way that that has never been possible for them," (Joshua Levy). I, personally, followed the campaign and learned about both of the presidential candidates. We made videos in class and we did research on each of the candidates. Finding information on a candidate's stance is so easy. You can either go to barackobama.com or johnmccain.com and find their stance on a lot of the issues. I also think that if you do not have a strong opinion on who you would like to be president, you are more likely to just follow your friends. You can see the groups your Facebook friends are in. They could be in a Obama or McCain group and just wanting to be a part of something can get the youth involved. "I think young people, even moreso than adults, do influence each other and sort of you know what's cool, because you know they do not have as much information adn their opinions haven't been as solid for as long about what they believe, they can be very much influenced by their peers," (Mindy Finn). Overall, most countries seemed happy with the election and Barack Obama becoming president. However, Russia does not seem happy at all. "Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday became the first world leader to throw down a gauntlet to US president-elect Barack Obama, declaring that the Kremlin would station missiles in the tiny Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland, in response to US plans for an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe." To be honest, I have no idea what throwing down a gaunlet means. However, I know that him saying he is going to station missiles is not good. It actaully kind of scares me a little. Other than that, the world seems pleased with Barack Obama's election. The website also says "There was widespread relief in Berlin at the victory of Barack Obama, the candidate an overwhelming majority of Germans would have picked, had they had a vote." However, I read in an article that yes, they say they are happy with him being president. But they Germans would never elect a minority into office.