http://reason.com/blog/2010/10/06/why-should-opponents-of-the-wa

This morning Radley Balko noted a Wall Street Journal story about "Democratic strategists" who hope that marijuana legalization initiatives can help draw young, left-leaning voters to the polls. The evidence of such an effect is less than overwhelming, and its impact is apt to be small, though possibly decisive in very close races. That consideration may help explain Jane Hamsher's interest in mobilizing pot-tolerant voters as well as the meager Republican support for her Just Say Now project. But more interesting is a point the Journal virtually ignores: Although Democrats take it for granted that drug policy reformers belong to them (and polls do show that supporters of California's Proposition 19 lean sharply toward Team Donkey), the party's candidates have very little to offer this constituency. The article's penultimate paragraph notes:

"Few political candidates support marijuana legalization. In California, the Democratic and Republican candidates for Senate and governor oppose Proposition 19. Mr. Obama opposes legalization and would face political pressure to challenge the law if Proposition 19 passes."

Obama embodies the disappointment that almost always awaits voters who think Democrats will enact more enlightened drug policies because they sound more enlightened before they gain the power they seek. As a senatorial candidate, Obama advocated marijuana decriminalization, a position he renounced when he ran for president. As a presidential candidate, he said he would end the DEA's medical marijuana raids, a promise he broke after he was elected. So far he has waged the war on drugs, which he once called an "utter failure," in pretty much the same manner as his predecessor, only with more money. The one substantial improvement in federal drug policy since Obama took office is crack sentencing reform, which he supported. But that change was in the works for years and had already attracted support from many Republicans. Meanwhile, Obama literally laughs at the voters whom Democrats hope will turn out for them now.

http://reason.com/blog/2010/10/06/why-should-opponents-of-the-wa