Tagged: presidential primary

We'll look at this year's presidential selection process. We'll see how it has changed and what those changes might mean for the future.

Historically, young people have been much less likely to vote than older Americans.

That trend has started to change in the past few presidential election cycles, especially in 2008, when a census report found that 49 percent of those ages 18 to 24 who were eligible to vote participated in the presidential election.

While still significantly lower than the overall voter participation rate of 64 percent, the youngest demographic was the only age group to show a statistically significant jump in 2008 participation, the census reported.

But will the trend continue this year? And if so, who benefits?

The GOP candidates for president have seized on high gas prices as a line of attack against President Obama, largely saying the answer is more domestic oil drilling.

But GOP front-runner Mitt Romney used to have a position seemingly at odds — at least in emphasis — with what he and the other Republicans are now advocating.

As Massachusetts governor, Romney said high gasoline prices "are probably here to stay," and he advocated policies to cut energy demand.

Now, Romney says President Obama's environmental policies are to blame for $4-per-gallon gasoline, and he is pushing for aggressive new oil and gas exploration.

Mississippi and Alabama were big wins for Rick Santorum in the fight for the GOP presidential nomination.

While never considered strong for Mitt Romney, those states further revealed the vulnerabilities of his campaign, specifically, problems identifying with many elements of the Republican base.

The next big contest is Tuesday in Illinois.

It's a state rich in delegates (69) and in something else that should be good news for Romney: more moderate Republicans. But he still needs to connect with even those voters.

NPR has been talking to people in and around central Illinois, including the city of Peoria.

There were a lot of good stories from the 2008 presidential election, including Hillary Clinton's serious run for the Democratic nomination, not to mention the election of the first African-American president. The whole story was covered in the bestselling — and controversial — book by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, Game Change.

On HBO on Saturday, the film Game Change focuses on the failed presidential candidacy of Sen. John McCain and especially on his best asset and most unpredictable weakness: his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska. It's worth watching as a prequel to the election we're watching right now.

As a political nerd, I loved seeing Game Change's details on how candidates are coached for debates and interviews.