Greenfield cites weak link between citizens and political process

Jace Radke and Lisa Snedeker

Tuesday, May 4, 1999 | 11:16 a.m.

The connection between U.S. citizens and politics is very weak and that has led to indifference among American voters.

That's the message CNN political and media analyst Jeff Greenfield brought to the Barbara Greenspun Lecture Series audience Monday night at UNLV's Artemus Ham Hall.

"The most basic action is to vote -- the bottom-line exercise of citizenship," Greenfield said. "The act of voting is now a minority enterprise."

During the last presidential election, fewer than half the eligible voters went to the polls, he said.

"There just isn't a lot of interest especially in 18- to 24-year-olds," Greenfield said. "Only about 15 percent of those in that age group voted in the last election."

Evidence of the distance between politicians, the media and the public can be found in President Clinton's recent impeachment hearings, he said. Outrage at the president's actions was expressed more by political insiders and journalists than the average citizen.

Another example Greenfield used to illustrate the gap is the conflict in Kosovo, saying it is a political situation that may not be a priority to Americans.

"It is taken seriously by people who have a member of their family over there, and if it develops into a ground war, a lot more family members will be put in danger," Greenfield said.

Greenfield, who has visited Las Vegas in the past, has recently finished a novel that is set here.

"I was here for a National Association of Broadcasters convention, and I thought it would be a fantastic setting for a book," Greenfield said.

"I tried to come up with a real over-the-top hotel, but the longer it takes to get the book out, the more of a chance that reality will catch up with me."

In the novel, "Jackpot," due out in the fall, much of the action takes place at the fictional Blue-Gray hotel-casino.

The casino has a Civil War theme and includes a nightly assassination of President Lincoln in the main showroom and a daily re-enactment of the battle of Gettysburg in the lobby.