Romney’s appeal to younger voters is based almost entirely on a pledge to do better, and for some, including Jeffrey Johnston, that is enough. At age 20, he is studying architecture and already worrying about job prospects when he graduates in 2014.

He’s not crazy about Romney, particularly his conservative stands on social issues, such as abortion. But Johnston, who is not even certain of his party registration, knows he “hasn’t seen as much hope and change as I would have liked” — a dour reference to Obama’s 2008 slogan — so he’s willing to take a chance on the former Massachusetts governor. “It’s the lesser of two evils,” Johnston shrugged…

“I don’t understand how a college kid could vote for Barack Obama, not because he’s a bad guy, but just because he doesn’t understand that as he spends this money and says how much he’s helping you, he’s in fact spending your money, and you’re going to have to pay it back with interest,” Romney told a crowd this week in Ohio.