Change Appeals to the Middle-Aged and Elderly, Too
By Michael Ronan

On a dreary Tuesday morning, in the early hours of Super Tuesday, voters rushed to the polls, aiming for change. Change had been a major talking point for several candidates, including Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Both used the word to inspire a surge in youth votes.

But at East 10th St. and Broadway, in Lower Manhattan, it was clear that the middle-aged and the elderly were equally eager to effect change.

Renee Feinberg, 67, said she voted because she wanted to “to be a part of it,” referring not just to the election process, but to what she sees as an overwhelming shift of voters to the left. “The country has shifted against core conservative values.”

Middle-aged voters agreed.

“I hope [the Bush presidency] is viewed as the total disaster that it is,” said Eric Myers, a 53-year-old writer. Adam Nash, 44, said that President Bush would be remembered as “the President who alienated a country.”

While many older voters arrived early at the polls, only a lackluster number of young voters appeared, even though some polling stations were held inside NYU dorms. “We need the young person votes,” said Myers. “That’s the only way it can work.”