Of course, the punditry class in the United States has yet to recover from the shock.


This from the Pew Research Center's "Young Voters in the 2008 Presidential Primaries"

The surge in youth turnout has occurred in a diverse collection of states, including those with large African-American populations (Georgia, South Carolina), those that are nearly all-white (Iowa, New Hampshire), and one with a large Hispanic population (California). Youth turnout as a percentage of the total is up in states that voted at the very beginning of the primary process and for which the comparisons with 2004 are most apt (Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina), as well as in those where the 2004 comparison is to contests held in March of that year after the nomination was essentially settled (California, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York).

[...]

Beyond the vote, the exit polls on Super Tuesday point to interesting differences -- and similarities -- between younger and older Democratic voters. Young Democratic voters are considerably more likely than their elders to be Hispanic, and slightly more likely to be black. They are more apt to say they have no religious affiliation (23% vs. 18% among those ages 30-44, 15% among those 45-59, 10% among those ages 60 and older), and more likely to say they are "liberal" in their political orientation.

Diversity and multiculturalism is at the heart of the Millenials zeitgeist. It is not only the largest generation in American history. The Millennials generation is roughly 40 percent of it is African-American, Latino, Asian or racially mixed with one in five millennials has an immigrant parent.

So is the fact they are the generation that came of age after September 11. They are not a warring generation in as much as a generation that has seen civil rights greatly diminished in the name of war. And it's growing in the shadow of this historical event what many believe has propelled this generation, more than any other, into political activism from a very early age.

As one of the few members of Generation X who, like Obama, was politically active from an early age, I find it refreshing and exciting that so many young people are not just coming out to vote --whether for Ron Paul, Hillary Clinton or their favorite, Barack Obama-- but that they are actively engaged in the political process through social networks like MySpace and Facebook and from good old "knock on a door and get out the vote" initiatives.

It is a really amazing moment in history.