Why Barack Obama? This was the question posed to students and young professionals across the country in the wake of the senator's historic announcement for president in Springfield, Illinois. The responses came pouring in from all corners of America.
The Obama Movement is a collection of these fascinating and diverse responses.
Not since the Kennedys in the 1960s has a politician so energized the youth of America. The key distinction is that today's generation is mobilizing through technology and online networking in ways unimaginable to previous campaigns. Hundreds of thousands of previously turned off young people have tuned into the vision of the former community organizer from South Chicago. Online groups have swelled into the hundreds of thousands, creative ads by supporters have dominated YouTube, and interest has translated into record-setting donations and massive turnouts in Iowa and New Hampshire, Nevada and Texas.
The Obama Movement contains the personal stories of young people in the trenches of one of the most exciting and significant elections in American history-and reveals why they are determined to make their voices count in 2008.
JOSEPH VOGEL is a graduate student and writing instructor at Brigham Young University. He is the author of Free Speech 101 and the founder of Barack the Youth Vote, a grassroots organization with members across the country. He has appeared in numerous newspaper, radio, and T.V. interviews and currently guest blogs for the Huffington Post.