Another question might be how to make sure that the fresh enthusiasm doesn't ripen into cynicism at political deal-making and partisan fighting.

To endorse Jonathan Radmacher's point, this is an abstract from an opinion piece I had published in the Bend Bulletin recently:

"There is another factor to this election that should be of concern. Many young people have been inspired to take an interest in politics as well they should, but there is a good chance that they will discover promises made and implied will not be fulfilled. It would be regrettable if they allowed their reaction to be one of cynicism. Instead, they should recognize in their own, if painful, interest that when it comes to a successful con job it takes two people - the con artist and the mark. The latter must recognize that he or she is partly to blame for being naïve and ill-informed and go on to remedy these defects. In politics scams take the form of campaign operatives as the tricksters and the public as the marks."

I am having a hard time affording school right now and am waiting for a check from obama for college. Also I'd like to be able to afford a car. Not sure if Obama has a plan for cars for students or not, but need my school check soon.

Thanks.

Demographically, I'm an older white female and therefore MUST have voted for McCain. In reality, I'm an older white female who has wanted Mr. Obama for my president ever since he spoke at the 2004 Dem convention. I'm an older white female who who sent checks as I could afford to for Mr. Obama's campaign and who voted for Mr. Obama. You can't imagine the joy felt by this older white female when he was elected. I'll bet there were a lot of older white females who voted for Mr. Obama. Or were they all just in my small circle of family and friends?

Demographically, I'm an older white female and therefore MUST have voted for McCain. In reality, I'm an older white female who has wanted Mr. Obama for my president ever since he spoke at the 2004 Dem convention. I'm an older white female who who sent checks as I could afford to for Mr. Obama's campaign and who voted for Mr. Obama. You can't imagine the joy felt by this older white female when he was elected. I'll bet there were a lot of older white females who voted for Mr. Obama. Or were they all just in my small circle of family and friends?

Two words: Rahm Emanuel.

Nothing like a militarist reactionary like him to let you know with what contempt Obama holds progressives.

If you like the status quo on the drug war, pay or die health care, non-living wage, the Patriot Act, FISA, NAFTA-related trade deals, nuclear and unclean coal before solar, increased military spending, unqualified support for Israeli crimes, and continuing militarism, you should continue on this course of triumphalism. If you want change, join the November 5 Movement.

As a now late 30something voter who was once a young idealist and who became a cynic after 8 years of stolen elections and Bush regime, it took a reprimand from my mother (who came of age in the era of Eisenhower and Kennedy and now suffers dementia). She told me to quit my bitching and get busy. And that got me off my butt to volunteer with Obama's campaign, and help get out the vote. It also got me to vote for the PCC bond and children's measure, even though it will raise my property taxes significantly. Now that we've elected Obama, I feel that our work is just beginning, that we need to heed his call to service and sacrifice, to ask, as Kennedy did, what we can do for our country. Only then can we truly heal, rebuild and empower ourselves to remain involved in our own democratic process.

So, it's not about everyone getting a car, or car insurance. It may be about driving less or using less electricity or investing in our own learning while the government works on student tax breaks. It's about what we can each do and it will be about patience, because Obama's platform amounts to a giant wish list and it's going to come second to rebuilding our economy and figuring out what to do in Iraq and Afghanistan.

My plea to the excited new voters who are a generation behind me is that you not let the culture of instant gratification make cynics of you, that you understand that an idea, a policy, etc... will take time to germinate, to pass into law and to implement, and that Obama is a leader, not a miracle worker. He seems like a thoughtful, methodical person who will take time to make sure his policies are well thought out and not just pushed through.

And we did not just elect him to watch him succeed or fail. As he said, he needs our help to make this happen. It's the beginning, not the end, of what could be a very powerful era for all generations. I personally am looking forward to being of service to my country for the first time in a decade.

Whoa, trashing the man two days after the election? Some folks decided not to wait too long. Let's see what he does once in the job before we start the evaluation. The Netroots/Progressive/Liberal/Democratic movement didn't start with Obama and we are far from done just because he was elected President.

Remember: MoveOn has more members than the NRA. I'm still fired up and still ready to go!

You want to really know why the youth vote didn't turn out in 2004? Simple. The media canned the Dean campaign, which was generating the most excitement among the youth of any of the other Democratic nominees, and the youth were pretty fairly burned out when it came time to vote. When you deflate your own campaign in preference for a boring old establishment candidate, you're killing your chances when it comes to the youth vote. Any parent knows you've got to motivate your kids to do chores, any teacher knows you've got to motivate them to care about learning. It's the same way with voting, and the establishment shot themselves in the foot with Kerry when they went along with how the media smeared Howard Dean over one little insignificant thing.

@Chris Lowe: Being a Bus volunteer who's bumping up against that "under-30" ceiling myself, I can offer a few observations about how that organization, at least, seems to be working to insure they can keep cranking out a steady supply of enthusiastic young leaders.

First and foremost, as most folks here already know, the PolitiCorps program trains a dozen or so recent (or soon-to-be) grads in the ins-and-out of political campaigning. Many PolitiCorps fellows go on to work with the Bus and its partner organizations, and yet more move directly to join the staff of various campaigns around the state.

Secondly, there is a pervasive culture of inclusion and promotion of promising volunteers to leadership roles within the Bus, no matter how they first come into contact with the organization. Even first-time Bus riders are encouraged to join a planning committee, volunteer to help an event happen, or otherwise take a hand in helping to steer the entire organization.

At most of the Bus events near the end of this cycle, the age of the people actively organizing and herding volunteers for the day really was closer to 20 than 30. Once the team was on the field, Caitlin, Garrett, and the other senior staff were content to let them play the game.

Thanks for the link, Harry. I signed up.

... we need to heed his call to service and sacrifice, to ask, as Kennedy did, what we can do for our country.

Unfortunately, Kennedy was more sizzle than steak. He was to be commended for his inspirational rhetoric (sound familiar?) and the Peace Corps but getting the United States deeper into the Vietnam quagmire pretty well negated that.

Nothing like a militarist reactionary like him to let you know with what contempt Obama holds progressives.

And so it begins. Now your guy got about 570,000 out of about 140,000,000 votes,...

Geez. You mean to say there are less than one percent of voters who are progressive?

What makes you think that Obama's just going to roll over for these guys?

Well, for openers there are his groveling before AIPAC, his reversal on the FISA bill granting retroactive immunity to the telecom companies for spying on the American people and letting them continue in the future, and his plans to increase military forces in Afghanistan despite the obvious fact there is no military solution for that area. Need more? Go to Counterpunch for Nov. 6 and read the article "A Look Under the Hood of an Obama Administration."

It wasn't just that our "young people" voted, they were extremely involved in the Obama campaign's ground game! They stepped up big time which bodes well for our Country's future.

"So I am curious about whether you have thoughts about maintaining continuing youth engagement efforts and developing new leadership among the younger end of that spectrum for the contexts and organizations in which you work."

Hey Chris,

Thanks for your comments focused on youth and youth leadership.

Creating opportunities for younger activists to become leaders is what the Bus is all about. When we started the organization I was 24. I am reminded on a daily basis that, at 24, I had the skills, energy, will, and enthusiasm required by the work we started--and that I also had a lot to learn.

When we started PolitiCorps, our national leadership development program for young progressive organizers, part of our interest was to streamline some of the lesson-learning we went through in our first years of running the Bus Project. The program is run by young people, for young people. And we bring in more seasoned experts in the field to teach skills, ask tough questions, facilitate conversations, and share their stories and experience.

We know that the only way to develop real leadership skills is to have a true leadership experience. That is what we attempt to do with PolitiCorps, and with all of the volunteer-run events and projects at the Bus. At the same time, we learn from history that no major cultural movement is the effort of one generation--the boomers adopted and adapted the skills and infrastructure developed by the "silent" generation that came before them. As my friend Jefferson often says, it's not about age, it's about THE age. And are living during an age that demands action.

Yet, for at least as long as young people have had the right to vote, the message has been that young voters will not act.

Up until last week, organizers, funders, allies in the progressive movement, and young people themselves feared the worst from young voters. Funding for youth civic work was late and low all over the country this year. (PEW, for instance, stopped funding youth civic work this year.) People wondered: Would they vote? Would they vote for anything more than president? Would they turn out if it looked like a sure thing? Would they bail if the lines on campus were too long?

What I wonder is what we need to build to move forward to support young people as active and valuable contributors to the political process. Studies show that many young people lack opportunities to discuss current events, have thoughtful debate, or explore political philosophy in school-- and that these kinds of experiences correlate with voter registration and turnout.

And training programs focused on putting young people in positions of leadership, teaching them organizing skills, are also important.

If you have ideas about other ways to encourage young leaders -- I'm all ears.

O the Bus Project and young voters, we heart you. Here at Oregon AFSCME we think the bus project is the best political initiative in Oregon in decades. We have been early and consistent financial supporters of the Bus. We have been partners for years. Your work has inspired us to do more. Our partnership has inspired us to create a Next Wave movement for young members and leaders in AFSCME. The Bus Project and AFSCME Next Wave activists will be future leaders in the labor movement and Oregon politics for years. Your work has made a huge difference in the legislative makeup. The activist get out and volunteer theme of the Bus Project has demonstrated how individuals can make a difference when they join together and work and fight for change.

Bottomline: "out of the mouthes of babes comes perfect praise." In other words, even the kids knew McCain would be a disaster. How did those other 40% folks see it any other way?!?

Pat Ryan said, "At least give us a little credit for integrity"

For working for a candidate who wants to increase our trillion-dollar-plus military spending? Who vows unqualified support for Israeli crimes? Who likes the Patriot Act, FISA capitulation, and bailouts for his Wall Street buddies at the expense of the rest of us? Who loves the "free" market, NAFTA-like trade deals, pay-or-die health insurance, and terroristic threats to those who are most likely to attack us in response?

Is that integrity? It is an "internally consistent set of principles", i.e., hegemony and corporatism, so maybe it is integrity (if you disavow the necessity for honor and virtue). Congratulations.

Join the November 5 Movement, and I'll give you some credit.

Thanks, Caitlin.

I can also echo Cailtlin's comments re: age not being the most meaningful factor in the work the Bus Project does. While young voters & leaders (be it students or young professionals) are the target audience, the message & impact of the work is truly timeless.

Unlike other demographic groups such as race or ethnicity, age is dymanic & the bench constantly needs to be re-filled w/new folks ready to make a difference for their generation, state, country, & world.

The Bus does an amazing job of re-fueling the engine of youth civic engagement via their innovative programs, passion for the cause, data-driven analysis, and outreach skills.

Ultimately, this work takes a combination of idealism, determination, faith, good personal & organizing skills, patience, & a laser-like pragmatic focus on results.

Thus, the Bus is home to people of many skills, talents, interests, political backgrounds, and outlooks w/in the broader progressive, youth-oriented, forward-leaning world.

That diversity in thought/approach & welcoming, encouraging atmosphere is what brings people back, keeps them engaged, & inspires new volunteers to get on board (both in Oregon and other states).

In my humble opinion, there is no other group or organization, no matter how big or how effective, quite like it.

Many years ago, when Kay Pollack and I were co-chairing the Nuclear Freeze Coalition, as we struggled to keep a group that ran from main-line churches all the way to the local Soviet Union representative (I kid you not; they had a guy on their payroll in Portland Oregon)focused on our purpose (a freeze on nuclear weapons),a wise older woman on our Board observed, "The problem the left has always had is the tendency to splinter and attack each other." (One young woman on the board was shocked at the suggestion that she was "of the left!")
Here's a celebratory post about something really quite wonderful that's happened right here in Portland Oregon, over the last few months and days, and it becomes the excuse for criticism, doubt, even carping, and of course, the obligatory long essay insisting we must always look at the bigger picture. How about just one "ATTA GIRL", "ATTA BOY," and "ATTA KIDS" for one hell of good job well done, and leave it at that for a day or two? There'll be plenty of opportunity for looking at each other's navels later. TOG

I had the pleasure Tuesday night of picking up my 12 year old daughter and her friend from choir practice. All during the practice, the kids were receving text messages with updates about the election. My daughter used her break to call me "Please Mom, get on the internet, did they really call Pennsylvania for Obama? What is happening in Virginia? We know he has Californina, Oregon and Washington in the bag, so how many more electorial votes does he need to win?" They came rolling out of their rehersal screaming and shouting "OBAMA" - they all knew the race had been called. Twelve year olds. To me, this was the power of the election -- watching people who could not even vote become engaged in the political process. Like Jon, I worry about keeping the enthusiasm alive for these voters-to-be (and those who voted for the first time this election), but for a short time, I want to savor the magic.

Several thoughts:

1) Caitlin rocks.

2) Pertaining to something I read above: "cross-generational" needs to become a watchword for the Bus. It has always been a reality in the people who have driven together, but as the brand matures, it needs to be obviously age-inclusive, even as it works to stay youth-relevant (and yes, to keep engaging the next cohort of leaders).

3) "Generation": we should think not in terms of age group, but in terms of a period of years. The matter is not to give power to any particular age group -- or any particular constituency or person -- but to give power to ideas that will fix us better for the future.

4) Let's tread with audacious humility. There will those that counsel against "overreaching"; I woul apply counsel that to a needed wariness of departing from our best values and most needed objectives. Let us not think that now is the time to reward our own self-interest, but to think about the common interest. At the same time, in doing so let's not miss the necessity of history.

5) Thanks to all the people who volunteer (for various things) and thereby build a constituency for the public good. You are priceless.

Great points, Jeff.

How many legislators now are 35 or under?

And about this:

"4) Let's tread with audacious humility. There will those that counsel against "overreaching"; I woul apply counsel that to a needed wariness of departing from our best values and most needed objectives. Let us not think that now is the time to reward our own self-interest, but to think about the common interest. At the same time, in doing so let's not miss the necessity of history."

Life is so much easier for young women like Caitlin than it was 30 years ago. Financial regulations for women (access to credit, banking and other laws regarding women who married and took their husband's last name, for instance) were very old fashioned before the year (early 1970s, Norma Paulus's first session, I think) when there were 10 women state reps across the political spectrum.

Not a lot in common as far as age or political persuasion, but all understood the financial problems of women. They banded together and became a bloc--without their votes, bills could not pass. They used that power to pass bills modernizing financial laws for women. Norma said when they got thank you notes from Business and Professional Women's clubs in E. Oregon, they knew they were doing the right thing. That is the sort of "common interest/necessity of history" legislation the next legislature should consider.

Here is one idea, as an example: If schools are mainly funded by state tax dollars, the legislature should demand as much oversight of school administrator pay packages and work evaluations as of teachers. How many school district administrators (esp. in central school district offices) are making twice as much as teachers--average, new, experienced, whatever? What are they doing to earn that pay? If an HR administrator, how well does their hiring process work? Using what measure? What would a performance audit find? If their job description/performance was written about in a newspaper, would it make sense to average folks? Teacher of the Year gets lots of publicity, what are administrators doing to benefit education?

For years, Republicans have claimed that teachers make too much money because they are unionized, while management apparently deserves what the market will bear. They love talking about audits, accountability for public spending, let's turn the tables and see if administrative salaries are value for the dollar.

And are all those tax breaks living up to their promise, and providing value for the dollar? Or just rewarding cronies? Time to look at whether they deserve to be kept on the books.

This should be an interesting session next year.

What I wonder is what we need to build to move forward to support young people as active and valuable contributors to the political process. Studies show that many young people lack opportunities to discuss current events, have thoughtful debate, or explore political philosophy in school-- and that these kinds of experiences correlate with voter registration and turnout.

Let's not overlook the forces at large working on children from their earliest days to become consumers instead of citizens.

Perhaps when someone posts a statement that leaves you thinking, "what, are you 15?", we should consider that the person might be. Obama turned out a lot of younger voters and many- and those that weren't old enough but cared- will be interested in the process more. BO is a natural stop. Perhaps, some indulgence? In particular, I've wondered if some of the recent critique of YoungOregonMoonbat hasn't been a tad harsh, the operative word being young.

I worked long and hard as a twelve year old for Bobby Kennedy and I was not disillusioned so much by what happened as the harsh, real-politik attitude of the Johnson-appointed crowd after the election. I believe I have heard Vera Katz mention that as well.