by Erin Ferns

With an estimated 23 million 18-29 year old citizens turning out to vote in the 2008 presidential election, it is easy to assume that young people today have overcome the stereotypical image of "apathetic youth." Yet, while the last few election cycles show an ever-growing interest in political engagement, young people are still underrepresented in the U.S. electorate--a problem that seems to have more to do with lack of access than lack of interest.

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50,000 in attendance.  21,000 new ground troops added to the campaign. THIS is field organization at work.

Oh man, how I love The Boss!

For those of you close enough, and lucky enough, there are still two more Springsteen for Obama events:

Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, October 5

Where: Ohio State University's Main Oval
When: Sunday, October 5. Doors open at 3:00, showtime is 4:30
How: For access to the best viewing area, preferred tickets will be distributed starting on Thursday, Oct. 2, from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. For ticket pick-up locations, see the Dayton Daily News.

Ypsilanti, Michigan on Monday, October 6

Where: Oestrike Stadium
When: Monday, October 6. Gates open at 3:00, showtime is 4:30
How: A limited supply of tickets will be made available Friday, Oct. 3, at Obama campaign offices as well as all EMU ticket offices. Tickets will be given out on a first- come, first-served basis. EMU students will be able to obtain one ticket by showing a valid EMU ID. Eastern Michigan University will expand its normal ticket office hours Friday to accommodate the expected demand. The expanded hours and locations are as follows: Quirk Hall, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Student Center, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and the Convocation Center, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The general public should use the Convocation Center location for ticket requests.

The piece is beautifully written so I'm not going to interrupt to point out relevant points.  What I want to reinforce is just how efficient the Obama team is when it comes to using these events as genuine campaign tools. This is great field organization - nothing left to chance, multiple layers of redundancy packed into the event.  The second point is that there is a great sense of the enthusiasm we have.  Springsteen may have been the draw, but a lot of these people were there for Obama. The quote from a volunteer who had found only 10 people still unregistered seems to be a great sign.  

From http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_pag e/20081005_As_Springsteen_sings__Obama_s _camp_signs.html

Bruce Springsteen had pounded through his second song as though his acoustic guitar were a pickax, then handed it off to an assistant. The rocker in rolled-up plaid sleeves slung another guitar over his shoulder and tossed out a raspy line that made clear to the thousands on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway how he feels about Barack Obama.

"We tried this four years ago," said Springsteen, who held concerts for then-Democratic nominee John Kerry and headlined yesterday's get-out-the-vote rally for Obama in Center City. "This time, we're winning."

Though organized by the Obama campaign in just a few days, the concert, at 20th and the Parkway, drew an estimated 50,000 people. According to Obama staff, it also added 21,000 new ground troops to the Illinois senator's campaign effort in must-win Pennsylvania.

The Democratic presidential candidate's potent ground operation was on display up and down the Parkway, with volunteers at almost every turn collecting personal information about concertgoers and doling out voter-registration forms.

As good as this is, it gets even BETTER after the jump  - pics & video included!

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You know what they got in Vegas?

No, not that. No, that, either. No, NO. We don't even want to talk about THAT!

They have thousands upon thousands of young, hot, nubile, ready and willing... UNREGISTERED VOTERS!

Which is why I'M going to Vegas with a large group from the Santa Monica, California office of the Obama campaign the weekend of September 26th-28th.

But what good will it be if I'M there and you're not?!?!

There's a bus to get you there if you're from SoCal.

There a cheap hotel rooms if you commit by Monday.

There's ME screaming, "COME ON 10" at the craps table at 3AM.

There's KERRY STATES + IOWA + COLORADO + NEVADA = President Obama.

Come on... you know the saying... "What's registered in Vegas, votes in Nevada!"

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The New York Times has a new piece on the national trends away from the GOP, both registration-wise and at a local electoral level. What's most interesting to me is that there's absolutely no attempt at forced balance in the article. There's not one "GOP consultants say..." to be found, which is refreshing. It's content to report the facts, even if they are all bad for the Republican Party.

Check out these registration statistics:

In several states, including the traditional battlegrounds of Nevada and Iowa, Democrats have surprised their own party officials with significant gains in registration. In both of those states, there are now more registered Democrats than Republicans, a flip from 2004. No states have switched to the Republicans over the same period, according to data from 26 of the 29 states in which voters register by party. (Three of the states did not have complete data.)

In six states, including Iowa, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, the Democratic piece of the registration pie grew more than three percentage points, while the Republican share declined. In only three states -- Kentucky, Louisiana and Oklahoma -- did Republican registration rise while Democratic registration fell, but the Republican increase was less than a percentage point in Kentucky and Oklahoma. Louisiana was the only state to register a gain of more than one percentage point for Republicans as Democratic numbers declined. [...]

Among the 26 states with registration data, the percentage of those who have signed on with Democrats has risen in 15 states since 2004, and the percentage for Republicans has risen in six, according to state data. The number of registered Democrats fell in 11 states, compared with 20 states where Republican registration numbers fell.

In the 26 states and the District of Columbia where registration data were available, the total number of registered Democrats increased by 214,656, while the number of Republicans fell by 1,407,971.

What's interesting is that this shift is not seen as merely a function of the enthusiasm generated by the presidential primary. In fact, it's been a trend that's been evident for several years, which in itself speaks to the likelihood that the shifts we're seeing are sustainable in the longterm.

"This is very suggestive that there is a fundamental change going on in the electorate," said Michael P. McDonald, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an associate professor of political science at George Mason University who has studied voting patterns.

Mr. McDonald added that, more typically, voting and registration patterns tended to even out or revert to the opposing party between elections. [...]

But for a shift away from one party to sustain itself -- the current registration trend is now in its fourth year -- is remarkable, researchers who study voting patterns say.

As the piece makes clear, the voter registration numbers are just a product of underlying shifts taking place, a perfect storm that has included profound disillusionment with Bush, changes in the demographic landscape ("including the rise in the number of younger voters and the urbanization of suburbs") as well as the adoption of a more pragmatic approach by the Democratic Party to run more conservative candidates in conservative districts and states. The big questions are whether this movement toward the Democrats is sustainable and whether it will manifest in a wave election in November that sweeps Barack Obama into the presidency along with larger congressional majorities.

"Major political realignment is not just controlling the branches of government," said Mr. McDonald of the Brookings Institution. "It is when you decisively do it. We haven't seen that in modern generations."

For it is only with decisive victories that the sort of shifts in demographics, voter registration and voting behavior we're already seeing throughout the country can lead to the sort of transformative policy shifts we've been working toward for years.

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The reports of last night's event in Detroit are under-emphasizing perhaps its most important facet.  The arena was indeed full and there were plenty of people who didn't get inside.  Tons of families with young kids on a school night, parents bringing kids to engage history.  But the very most impressive thing about it was the emphasis on registration.  

We were in line for well over an hour beforehand.  In that time span three volunteers passed by with clipboards and registration materials signing people up.  First speaker of the night?  Chauncey Billups, the immensely popular point guard of the Detroit Pistons.  Spoke for five minutes to deliver a call for registration and to emphasize that all this enthusiasm doesn't matter if people don't make it to the polls.  Gore placed a good deal of emphasis on registration as well, driving home a litany of reasons why elections matter and urged people to sign up on the spot.  Obama, of course, also stressed the importance of registering.  On the way out...yep, more volunteers with registration materials.  They made it both as easy as possible and emphasized its importance as much as they possibly could.  They took an endorsement rally and made it into a massive and effective voter registration drive.  If MI depends on Metro Detroit voters they missed no opportunities here.  

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