However, we know that the electoral benefits the Republicans have reaped over the last several decades are due to the fact that they've been as concerned about tearing down the "enemy" (liberals) as they have about building themselves.

Nothing in Obama's campaign indicates that he sees the world that way.  He's unsparing in his criticism of the specific failures of the Bush Administration, but he doesn't lay the blame for these failures on any particular political philosophy.  Just the opposite, in fact.

"I saw a couple that had been escorted out and they were confused as well, and the girl was crying, so I said `Why are you crying? and she said `I already voted for McCain, I'm a Republican, and they said we had to leave because we didn't look right,'" Elborno said. "They were handpicking these people and they had nothing to go off of, besides the way the people looked."

Elborno said while she has protested at events before, no plans were discussed beforehand for a protest and she shouldn't have been taken out because she was not causing a disturbance.

"If I had been disruptive, then I would have deserved to be taken out," Elborno said. "But at the time I was asked to leave, I wasn't doing anything."

Elborno said she's stunned at how the situation was handled, especially McCain's staffers' refusal to discuss the matter.

"I've never seen anything like this," she said.

And how do you measure that success when different people see different things in, and hold different beliefs about, the candidate? Progressives believe Obama is progressive, while centrists believe Obama is a centrist, and John McCain says he believes Obama is a socialist.  That's a wide spectrum of belief, and only one of those positions might be adequately backed up by the facts. (No, McCain, no. Just, no.) Someone (well, several someones) is bound to be disappointed by the real governing style of a President Obama, who will make decisions that most likely fall in line with his current Senate voting record.  

So the real impact Obama may have on whether the young voters he's rallied behind him continue to vote as Democrats is in how he communicates his decisions to that constituency.  They're going to want to feel as if they are included, and he's going to have to deliver on that promise of inclusion.  If he doesn't, and they become disillusioned by the process as a result, then that's not to say that they won't be Democrats.  But it could have an impact on the likelihood of their future participation in the process - and their enthusiasm for future candidates.

Most of the young voters in colleges now haven't seen really hard times in their lives.  Many haven't been out there knowing what it's like to make a living and juggle all the costs and responsibilities.  Then comes the crazily busy times of having children with two working parents.  There isn't a lot of time for involvement in politics, or anything, for that matter.  Working in Corporate America has an effect on people's political views too, with the conflict of what's good for the common man vs. what's good for the company you depend on to make a living.  This is especially important during times when jobs are scarce.

Then there is the question of potential disillusionment.  There is academic research that indicates that a young person's first choice of party and presidential candidate results in loyalty to that party for decades.  But I wonder about that research, given what I've seen from the late 60's through the 90's.

The Obama movement will need to continue bringing in the youth perennially to retain the enthusiasm.

I think what we've got here is a sea change, but I don't necessarily think it's a guarantee, because I believe the single biggest influence in this election was a desire to "throw the bums out" and I'm not sure we've done that much to strengthen the Democratic party brand in any lasting way.  That will depend on what happens in the coming years.  

In the summer of 2007, she told me she was moving to Canada if Hillary Clinton wins the election.

Imagine my surprise when I saw an Obama bumper sticker on her car a few months ago. She is caught up in the movement and doesn't even think of him in terms of policy positions.

I feel that I have to speak up here though because, judging from the comments, there don't appear to be a whole lot of young people posting, though you can correct me if I'm wrong. I am a 20 y/o latino jew male (though you would call me white if you saw me), certainly reflective of the rising multicultural youth demographics, in and of itself playing such a large role in the so called cult of personality many are deriding here. I won't deny that many of the people I know my age are smitten with Obama. My opinion is that it has a lot more to do with the cultural, generational shift that Obama represents then anything else. Fundamentally, his story and posture represent many things that are important to people of my generation, not to mention how much of an effort he has made to reach out to us. There is a level of understanding that many people attribute to him that is rare. And there is certainly a lot of peer pressure going on, especially among my lesser informed friends who nevertheless consider Obama a savior.

But don't misunderstand. We have grown up with George Bush as a president. Sure, we are idealistic, I know I am. But we know quite clearly what the deal is, that Obama is a politician like any other. We are the generation of Jon Stewart and Youtube. If Obama doesn't deliver, sure, that would be sad, but there seems to be this idea that among the youth that would hit particularly hard, as if we are so much more susceptible to the easy lies of a slick politician. I disagree. Its not about that. Its about what the Democratic party represents right now symbolically, in terms of our ideas on race and sexual orientation, as well as justice and equality, our values. I think we are looking at this idea of a permanent generation of Democratic voters the wrong way. We will move the country leftward I believe, but that will just create a new center. When the Republican party retools its message and aligns itself more closely with what we value, they will certainly be competitive.

and their growing enthusiasm is nothing short of remarkable and will influence American politics for generations to come.

But it is ramping up a bit in the last week -- and in discussions with students, too.  The Obama-mad students are bright-eyed optimists about politics.  That won't last, once reality hits, as it never does -- but I was one once, too, and I've seen many such over the years, and as ever, some will stay politically motivated.  The College Democrats, though, tend to be much like the party; they don't seem too organized.:-)

The College Republicans are really active now, though, and they're always more organized -- off-years, too.  And they're feeling quite beleaguered in their age group, so I get the sense that this is the sort of year that forges a fiery attachment to their party for them.