Romney and Obama Agree: They Want Young People to Vote for Them

Reuters
Eric Randall 694 Views Apr 23, 2012

Mitt Romney and President Obama agree on something: They both want to keep interest rates on federal student loans low, a policy Obama was staking out as his own big issue until Mitt Romney just up and agreed with him while speaking to reporters Monday. 

Interest rates on federally-subsidized Stafford loans will probably double in July unless Congress acts to keep them low, and Obama has petitioned them to do just that recently.  In fact, Reuters' Matt Spetalnick reports  that he'll make it a focus of his trip to a bunch of states this week. Per Spetalnick:

Obama will make his pitch in speeches at universities in North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa, three states expected to play a major role in the November election. The youth vote is a key national constituency his campaign team hopes to re-energize

So what a surprise when Mitt Romney decided not to differentiate himself from his opponent on Monday, or to express some of the reservations House Republicans have made about the topic. Instead, he said, "Particularly with the number of college graduates that can’t find work or can only find work well beneath their skill level, I fully support efforts to extend the low interest rate on student loans." What's behind this? Well, he also said to reporters he thought young people were starting to wonder about voting for Obama, and would look to him for policies that helped them.

A bid for the youth vote? It looks like they are both pushing the same policy (or at least supporting it) for the same purpose. Consensus! Expect the "Etch A Sketch" sirens or at least the "pivot to the center" alerts to go off soon.

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