By now, everyone is realizing that young voters will be, as Triston McIntyre puts it in an article on www.tech.blorge.com, "an untapped source of political strength" in the 2008 election. He spews forth much praise about the latest tactic to win the young vote: ABC has teamed up with the communication website Facebook.com, a site specifically targeting people in the 18-25 age range.

The goal of this union is almost monastically simple: Facebook.com will debut a brand spanking new US Politics section where users can follow ABC's reporters on the campaign trail, as well as take part in debates and polls. In short, McIntyre says, it will "harness the potent young adult voting demographic."

One can't overlook Rock the Vote, a group specifically designed to get young people out and voting. On the rockthevote.com home site, every headline and caption is assembled especially for youth consumption, from "Young voters picking the prez: turnout surges in '08" to "Register to vote: you gotta do it!"

On the Rock the Vote blog, Chrissy Faessen tells a star-studded story of the Fifth Annual Roots Jam Session, sponsored by Rock the Vote, which is described as "a continuous 5-hour concert that allows major music superstars and breaking bands to perform live and unrehearsed." Faessen drops names like Travis Barker, Fall Out Boy and Missy Elliot with the air of a socialite dropping gemstones, as if to say "Gosh, don't you wish you could have made it?"

The candidates will try anything to gain the youth vote.

Illustration by Andi Pavlacka, '09

The candidates themselves are not above pandering to the young voter, either. According to the Sioux City Journal, each candidate had a plan in mind for the 18-25 crowd. Before he bowed out of the race, John Edwards had set up an outreach plan that mainly worked through text messaging, says Ed Tibbets, a reporter for the Sioux City Journal.

Hillary Clinton announced a "Students for Hillary" campaign, unabashedly aimed at promoting herself across college campuses. Of course, with celebrity supporters like Oprah Winfrey, Edward Norton, Will Smith, and even Stephen Colbert, Barack Obama has been the most prominent figure in the tussle for the young vote.

"It was young people who decided that slavery was wrong. It was young people who decided segregation was wrong. It was young people who made sure that women had the right to vote. It will be young people who help bring an end to the Iraq war. It is you who will ultimately make the difference," Obama told Coe College students at a recent conference in Cedar Rapids .