Chapter 61.6: Looking Toward 2008

Ok, with that little bit of sappiness out of the way from yesterday, on to more serious stuff: the 2008 election. I noticed a press release from the Pew Charitable Trusts that discusses the importance of the youth vote in the 2006 election. While I was aware intellectually that it had been significant, I must admit seeing the numbers for particular races caught me by surprise.

For example, in the Montana race, Jon Tester defeated Conrad Burns by fewer than 4,000 votes; the youth vote had increased by more than 39,000. And in Virginia, James Webb topped George Allen by less than 9,400 votes; the youth vote had increased by more than 110,000. Looking at the surface of those numbers, I'm at a loss to assume that the youth turned the tide. Kids often are influenced by their parents' viewpoints (despite what the kids say), so in a Republican-dominated state like Montana, I don't know that we can assume most of them were voting Democrat and pushed it to Tester. But I'm curious enough that I'll look deeper into the reportage by Pew.

But the message coming out of the 2006 and 2004 elections was that this younger generation of voters is doing something that previous generations -- mine included -- have not done to a great extent: vote. I think that's a good sign for the future on many levels. Greater participation ideally comes with greater knowledge; which comes first, however, is one of those chicken/egg arguments. Keep it up kids. Teach us all something!