If you’re looking for amazing evidence of youth’s new political power in America, start in Georgia.  Once heralded as an Obama no-win state, when his campaign downsized (in a “pullout”), it is now a strong contender for most surprising Obama upset victory.  The secret: an unbelievable mobilization of youth organizers, especially Alex Lofton, an extraordinary 23-year-old.  Read the following snippets from www.fivethirtyeight.com, which has done a fantastic job staying on top of the Obama groundswell of volunteer and staff organizing:

“If there is one shocker on election night in the presidential race, cast your eyes to Georgia. 1,994,990 people voted early in Georgia. 3,301,875 total voted in Georgia’s presidential race in 2004.

Let that sink in.  [Early voters are overwhelmingly organized by the Obama campaign. – ed.]

“The pullout was greatly exaggerated,” began Caroline Adelman, Georgia Communications Director, Obama for America. The pullout, of course, refers to the publicized redistribution of Obama staffers to other states when it appeared the Illinois Senator had no chance to win. Obama’s skeleton staff of 53 is at least four times bigger than any other Democratic presidential effort in Georgia’s history…. With 33 offices and 175 separate staging locations, at least one in every one of Georgia’s 159 counties, Obama’s operation seemed shockingly energetic for a state not on most pundit radars.

Adelman credited wunderkind field operator Alex Lofton, now in Ohio, with setting up the infrastructure before he was considered too valuable not to have in a more competitive state. “He opened up all the offices, he trained all the kids, did conference calls twice a day,” Adelman explained. “He was 23 and doing things in a way twice his age couldn’t accomplish.” Such are Obama’s young brilliant organizers the campaign’s great underwritten story. [My emphasis.]

Continue…