Obama also set up his own Web site, MyBarackObama.com, with a platform similar to Facebook where members can meet new friends, discuss policy and invite people to campaign events.

“Barack’s use of technology has been exceptional,” Segal says. “There are dozens upon dozens of Facebook groups which has built contributors, organized rallies and support groups, and recruited more people to hop on the bandwagon. His supporters are using YouTube to give speeches. Obama uses young people to create energy and enthusiasm and he allows them to have a creative voice in politics.”

Obama is starting to close the generation gap that young people have felt with the more common older candidates, including Senator Hillary Clinton. She has not used technology to her advantage in order to reach the younger voter; instead she’s focused on issues that America’s been fighting about for years. Millennials are ready to bring new policies into the foreground of politics.

“Obama has sort of had this message that he is not part of that older generation,” says Andrew Romano, assistant editor and political blogger for Newsweek.

Romano says Obama comes after the generation still fighting over sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.

“Obama says he won’t be involved in the same partisan bickering. To younger voters it’s a generational change: trying to find consensus and unity, recognizing strength and community, and naturally appealing to our generation. He is less partisan and more interested in problem solving.”

Millennials are frustrated with the current state of government and the policies President George W. Bush has implemented in the last seven years. The idea of a young candidate rallying around the notion of change has shown to motivate the youth to turn up at the voting booths in historical numbers.

“Obama has monopolized on change…and young people have always organized around that concept,” Segal says. “He’s building successfully off that word and using it well to maintain the excitement.”

Since Obama is running on a campaign promising change for a voting population already upset with the current administration, some wonder if people are truly looking at his policies or if they’re only focusing on a government ready for a transformation.

“This is coming at a point in history where people just hate Bush,” says Ryan Bilodeau, 22, a junior at University of Rhode Island and the state chairman of College Republicans in Rhode Island. “[People are] so frustrated with what is going on in the country that no matter who the Democrat is there would be increased turnout. People aren’t only for the good qualities Obama has, but also the bad qualities Bush has.”

Whether the youth are attracted to Obama’s readiness for change or the idea that he is not President Bush, Obama is making SAVE’s mission a little easier by engaging the youth in politics.

“Our whole purpose of our organization was to instill this sense of civic engagement and create an active voter,” says Kevin Tamul, 22, director of public relations for the group and a senior at St. Lawrence University. “If you get the voter to polls once, more than likely they’ll go to polls again and that’s something we stress a lot. Obama is definitely contributing to this and he has created a larger group of youth who wants to vote, indirectly creating large interest in voting which we have not seen since 1978.”