Boston Takes to the Streets

The college crowd was ecstatic tonight in Boston,taking over city streets and bars to celebrate a president-elect they could call their own.

At Tufts University, the quad overflowed with hundreds of students chanting "Yes We Can" and singing the national anthem.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts -- lovingly known to its residents as "the people's republic of Cambridge" -- the streets were jammed with crowds chanting and cars honking. Hundreds of students and residents shut down over a mile of Massachusetts Avenue, a major thoroughfare, with an impromptu march complete with drums and noisemakers. Finally, around 2 am, police corralled the marchers onto the sidewalk and the crowd dispersed.

The official tallies on the youth vote won't be in for a few days -- but CIRCLE, a think tank on civic engagement, estimates that young people made up 18 percent of today's voters (they are 21 percent of the total voting-eligible population). This is a one point percentage increase from 2004, but CIRCLE is also emphasizing that while the youth vote as a share of the electorate has remained close to constant, the sheer number of youth voting has likely increased substantially. Preliminary numbers also say that youth ages 18-29 voted for Obama 68 percent to McCain's 30 percent. In the streets of Boston, the party belonged to them.

Comments (4)

1. O'Bama takes it to the streets! The brightest of your country can see him as their man, regardless of the usual identifiers. The 10% or so of politicized, and/or uninformed among the toxic Right would do well to sit back and watch him do like Mandela; not everything, but enough to light up the world's imagination. The students, typically over-nourished by the time their backpacks come to us out here, can dare to stitch a US flag back onto those packs...oh, unless he does appoint Bob Gates (and he does keep the nasty elites in power in the Security ol boys network). Isn't it great to have even more love pointed at you, your country than there was on Sept 11 and 12, 01? No nasty naked Emporor-buffoon to mess it all up.

   Posted by bazdicoot at 11/05/2008 @ 03:44am

2. Could we see a great social movement on the scale of the 60s? I hope so! I was an 18 year old then and it was great! To see the youth of our country ingaged in a political idea for the good of our country is a breath of fresh air. Now you all must keep it alive.

   Posted by Truthman at 11/05/2008 @ 07:36am

3. "young people made up 18% of today's voters (they are 21% of the total voting-eligible population). This is a one point percentage increase from 2004, but CIRCLE is also emphasizing that while the youth vote as a share of the electorate has remained close to constant"

   It's why I'm not apologizing....YET....Ms Currier.

   Posted by Mask at 11/05/2008 @ 10:25am

4. MASK -

   Isn't the more relevant question the percentage of the "youth vote" that Obama won? See it very well could be that the Obama campaign did a great job on their youth voters, Republican-leaning youth were more apathetic and sat this one out. Thus, the overall turnout might not show a dramatic increase.

   Just a thought. Not sure what the spread was compared to Kerry/Bush and Kerry Gore.

   Posted by Hman23 at 11/05/2008 @ 12:29pm