You know, regardless of your political stripe or even if Obama fails as president, there’s a greater conclusion we can draw from the campaign that put this man in the white house. It was a intergenerational effort, with young people at its heart. Much of it happened online, driven by web technologies that facilitate communication.

Is it a perfect analogy? No. But it is something to point to when people claim that Generation Y doesn’t fit in with other generations at work. The message to be delivered today is simply this: We do matter. We can get things done. We can be part of and leaders in tremendous success.

And you can’t ignore us.

I’m an outside voice on American politics, but the 2008 election definitely has my attention, largely due to the involvement of Barack Obama. Obama is the most interesting political candidate I’ve ever seen. He’s more exciting than the rest of the candidates in the running for the Democratic and Republican nominations, and he’s a great deal more inspiring than any major politician we’ve seen here in Canada in the last twenty years.

Recent polls show that I’m not alone in my support, as not only is Obama leading amongst 18-29 year-old eligible voters, he’s also inspiring young people to come out and vote in record numbers:

This time, they are proving their passion at the polls. Young voters have turned out in record numbers for the first two state contests, Iowa and New Hampshire, spurring some candidates to step up their outreach. Turnout of 18- to 29-year-olds in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary climbed to 43 percent of eligible voters, compared with 18 percent in 2004 and 28 percent in 2000, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland. In Iowa, 22 percent of all caucusgoers were under 30, compared with only 9 percent in 2000.

Those are huge increases, especially considering the dubious and rather esoteric nature of the primary system. I think it’s likely you’ll see an even stronger showing from young voters in the general election in November. Especially if Obama gets the nomination.

Photo by Daniella Zaclman. Licensed under Creative Commons