Citizen army

One of the consequences of Obama's victory, I hope and I anticipate, will be a new generation of young people who will take an active - by that I mean participatory - role in the political life of the nation. I volunteered in Hammond, Indiana today, knocking on doors and helping get the vote out. A union hall full of teenagers, in many cases too young to vote, took part. If Obama wins Indiana, and it looks like he will, teenagers and college kids and field directors not much older did it. The trick for the Democratic party is to translate this new citizen army into a force that helps guarantee Democratic wins 2 years from now, and 4 years from now. And, more importantly, the party needs to invite this segment of the population to transform our public and civic life. Draw on their enthusiasm to teach in our schools, perform public service, take part in community organizing. And fight discrimination.

One sad, sad result in tonight's otherwise happy political news: Voters in Arizona, Florida, and California voted to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry. In Arkansas, they voted to deny gays the right to adopt children. But if you dig into the numbers, discriminatory attitudes are confined to old people. In California, 67% of voters between 18 and 24 voted against the ban. Imagine combining the Obama campaign's gift for bringing young voters into the process - and giving them real responsibilities in organizing and operating the machinery of the campaign - with the attitudinal shift represented by those numbers from California. The result would be a citizen corps that would sweep away discrimination and intolerance.