I distinctly remember the Reagan election and he inspired a GREAT deal of support from younger voters. Actually, Nixon had large-scale support from "yuts" (because he favored lowering the voting age to 18). The media? No, they have been horribly hostile since 1972, and the GOP bosses did not like Reagan.
That said, Palin should inspire more support among some groups that she does not. Conservative college kids (check C-PAC, for example) heavily favor Mitt. When I go out to speak to Heritage or Young America's groups, for example, you can clearly see that they like Romney a lot, and that while they agree with Palin down the line on ISSUES, they just don't connect to her. I can't explain it, but it's silly to deny it. Her largest fan base is 40-60 year old women. When she was McCain's VP candidate, our county headquarters sold out of Palin t-shirts. They were always 40-60 year old women who bought them.
Interesting. Thanks, LS
Though I'd not agree that young voters liked RR, at least pre-1980. (I was surprised though to read how your students reacted towards Palin. Especially since you're at a Catholic univ.) I am seeing, within my own wee realm, a lot of folks telling me about things they've learned about Palin and confessing that they had "never known that about her".