Political passion or just a fad?

It was perhaps fitting that on the night Barack Obama was nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention to the cheers of thousands, a band called the Cold War Kids was ripping through a free show just a couple of miles north to the delight of hundreds.

After all, it is this crowd, born near the end of the Cold War and dubbed the "millennial generation," that is credited with putting Obama in place to possibly be the first black president. College-age voters and people in their 20s and early 30s turning out in numbers not seen since the Vietnam era helped deliver early and key Democratic primary wins for Obama, effectively legitimizing his campaign at a time when many political observers expected Hillary Clinton to roll.

Some theorize it's the birth of a new societal movement not seen since the Kennedy's political Camelot. These so-called "millennials" are envisioned as the next great voting bloc, possibly rivaling seniors in not only their political but marketplace influence.

Experts debate that theory, with some saying there is no political staying power involved, that the movement begins and ends with Obama's appeal to young voters. Others, however, say the involvement transcends this election and will signal a major shift.

Anecdotally, young voters profess a dedication to getting and staying involved and making sure the get to the ballot box on Election Day.

"The first time I heard Obama speak ... I just was so impressed because as a young person, it was the first time I felt like I was sitting there and I understood every single thing he was talking about," said 24-year-old Samantha Woods. "I was like, 'Oh, this guy's straight up.' Just talking about people. I think that was really inspiring."

Four years ago she voted for Democrat John Kerry, but wasn't politically active. This year, she and her 20-year-old sister Annie plastered their 1990 Volvo wagon with Obama bumper stickers and drove three days from their Santa Cruz, Calif., home to the Denver convention, selling homemade Obama T-shirts to pay for gas.

The Woods sisters' story is being repeated across the country as younger people often written off as blase on politics have increasingly and passionately turned out this campaign.

"Everyone I know is voting," Woods said.

Young Republicans are energized as well.

At a Young Republican National Federation event during the GOP convention in St. Paul, former presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, who plays a mean bass, urged a crowd of about 70 gathered at the Hard Rock Cafe to "be fanatically involved."

Nicolee Ambrose, a Western Springs native and former chairman of the young GOP group, said Republican principles appeal to young voters once they graduate from college and start paying taxes.

But what stands out from this campaign is how Democrats, and more specifically Obama, spurred this generation's interest.

Leading election expert Curtis Gans said it's great to have young people involved, but disputes the notion there's something more meaningful going on here. Instead Gans, head of American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate, said the draw starts and stops with Obama.

For proof, he turns back to the primary season and spotlights 21 states that held their governor or U.S. Senate primaries on different dates than their presidential contests.

While the presidential contests saw record or near-record turnout, the other primaries produced the lowest turnout ever. Just 14 percent of those old enough to vote did.

"If we had a millennial generation they should be voting in both," said Gans. "This is all an Obama phenomena."

Gans said if Obama had not won the nomination, if he loses next month or fails to live up to his promise as president, the interest of young people in politics will wither.

Not surprisingly, Gans has his critics.

Morley Winograd and Michael Hais co-authored the critically acclaimed book, "Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the future of American Politics."

They argue a generational shift is under way, one that is changing how retailers, employers and now politicians connect with younger, technology-savvy consumers and would-be voters.

The authors, neither of which is a "millennial," responded to Gans' take in a recent blog post, saying this generation isn't like the Baby Boomers who ultimately gave up on politics en masse or the Gen X-ers who were turned off from the start by the gridlock they faced.

"Now that millennials make up the entire population of voters 26 and under in this election, you can be assured that they will not only vote at rates comparable to older voters, just like their G.I. Generation great-grandparents did, but they will also continue to vote heavily and participate vigorously in the nation's political process for the rest of their lives," they argued.

Both the authors and Gans predict heavy turnout across all generations next week, meaning the true test of millennials' political staying power, or lack thereof, will have to wait for the 2010 midterm elections, when there's traditionally a precipitous drop off in turnout.

Meanwhile, today's media is trying to cope with the unique problems this generation brings to this election.

Their political sway has been underestimated in polling because many rely solely on cell phones and were skipped. On the other hand, their exuberance for Obama tilted exit polling in many states, resulting in early media projections of huge Obama victories that didn't pan out.

The Associated Press, which pools its resources with national networks to conduct exit polling on Election Day, recently wrote about being concerned over the accuracy of such polling in calling races on Nov. 4 because Obama supporters tend to not only be more willing to talk to those collecting the data, but often seek them out after voting.

<p class="factboxheadblack">A closer look</p> <p class="News">• More than 57.3 million people voted in presidential primaries this year, representing 30.3 percent of citizens old enough to vote across the country. The all-time high was 30.9 percent in 1972.</p> <p class="News">• In 11 states that had statewide primaries for governor or U.S. Senator on the same day as the presidential primary, 26.5 percent of the electorate went to the polls, the highest turnout since 29 percent in 1972.</p> <p class="News">• In 21 states where governor or senate primaries were on dates other than the presidential primary, turnout was only 14 percent of the electorate, the lowest ever.</p> <p class="News">Source: American University Center for the Study of the American Electorate </p>