Waiting to hear Barack Obama speak under the twinkling chandeliers of the old Palace Theatre in Manch-ester, N.H., Nina Fuentes, 21, ex-plained her draw to the presidential process: "They say young people are apathetic. Well, he's bringing us into the process. He's offering inspiration and hope that we can make a differ-ence…What I like is that his suc-cess is coming from grass roots, from the bottom up." Fuentes, a college senior brought a group of high-schoolers from Illinois to wit-ness the primary.

21歲的妮娜‧傅安提斯在新罕布夏州曼徹斯特古老的皇宮劇場閃閃發光的枝形吊燈下等聽歐巴馬演講。她解釋自己如何被總統選舉進程吸引：「大家都說年輕人冷漠，但他帶領我們參與選戰流程，他激勵人心，又帶給我們希望，讓我們覺得自己可以起關鍵作用。…我最欣賞的一點是他從基層按部就班往上爬，才有今日的成就。」今年上大四的傅安提斯從伊利諾州帶了一群高中同學來見證這次新州初選。

You can see it in their faces, their body language, an excitement for reasons they are almost too young to articulate. The same thrill was there nearly half a century ago with John F. Kennedy, and a few years later with his brother Bobby, when hordes of young people pushed the police bar-ricades on Kings Highway in Brook-lyn to touch him during his 1968 presidential run.

從他們臉上及肢體語言上，可以看到一種激情，至於理由，他們太年輕恐怕也說不上來。同樣的興奮激動近半世紀前在約翰．甘迺迪總統競選時也曾出現；又過幾年，他弟弟羅伯．甘迺迪1968年選總統時，年輕人也同樣成群結隊推倒警方在布魯克林金斯公路所設的路障，只為了和他近身接觸。

And Obama is not the only con-tender reeling them in. Across the political spectrum, this presidential election is shaping up as a banner year for young activists and voters. As they help knock on doors for Hillary Clinton, and show up at rallies to tote signs and listen to John McCain, they also are finding themselves to be a valued voting bloc.

歐巴馬並非唯一一位拉攏年輕人的候選人。跨越不同政治光譜派系，這次美國總統選戰已被形塑為年輕生力軍和選民出頭年。他們為希拉蕊‧柯林頓敲開選民大門，並在馬侃的群眾造勢大會上現身舉牌傾聽他發表政見，他們發現自己是寶貴的票倉。

"Apathy is no longer cool," says Marc Morgenstern, executive director of Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan organization that targets 18-year-olds and has registered a quarter of a mil-lion voters so far this year. "They feel the candidates are listening to them."

鎖定18歲年輕人的無黨派組織「表態」執行長摩根斯坦說：「冷漠已經不酷了，他們可以感受到候選人聽到他們的心聲。」「表態」今年迄今已有25萬選民登記加入。

This time, they are proving their passion at the polls. Young voters have turned out in record numbers for the first two state contests, Iowa and New Hampshire, spurring some candidates to step up their outreach. Turnout of 18- to 29-year-olds in New Hampshire primary climbed to 43 percent of eligible voters, com-pared with 18 percent in 2004 and 28 percent in 2000, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland. In Iowa, 22 percent of all caucusgoers were under 30, compared with only 9 per-cent in 2000.

這次他們要用選票證明他們的熱情。在愛阿華和新罕布夏這兩個最早舉行初選的州，年輕選民投票率創新高，促使某些候選人加強擴大對他們的服務。據馬里蘭大學公民學習與參與資訊研究中心指出，在新州初選中，18到29歲選民的投票率占合格選民的比率攀升至43%；相形之下，2004年只有18%，2000年則為28%。在愛阿華州，所有參加黨團會議的選民有22%不到30歲，2000年只有9%。

Following her Democratic primary win, Sen. Hillary Clinton made time for an interview on MTV, telling viewers, "There is a movement for political involvement. . . . My support among young people will grow." She pledged that her campaign would do more to reach them. And Sen. John McCain, the Republican primary winner, addressed a rally in Pontiac, Mich., filled with students from South Christian High School like senior Natalie Visser, who said she was "keeping an open mind." By the end of the speech, McCain had won her over.

在新州贏得民主黨初選勝利後，參議員希拉蕊撥冗接受MTV電視台訪問，她告訴觀眾，「政治參與已形成一種運動。…我在年輕人之中的支持度將會增加。」她矢言今後選戰會加強和年輕人接觸。參議員馬侃也在共和黨初選獲勝後到密西根州龐迪亞克向一群選民發表政見，現場擠滿南方基督教高中生，其中高三學生娜塔莉．維瑟先表明自己「抱持開放心態」，等聽完政見後，馬侃已經贏得她的支持。

Twin teenage brothers in Oregon launched a Web site for Mike Huck-abee last year (Hucksarmy.com) that has raised $100,000, set up networks in 43 states and attracted thousands of volunteers for the former Arkansas governor. Huckabee has been using rocker cred to appeal to the younger generation. At a huge rally at Furman University in South Carolina, he en-tertained the crowd by playing bass with a local band.

俄勒岡州一對青少年雙胞胎去年幫哈克比成立一個網站（Huck-sarmy.com），迄今已募得10萬美元款項，並在全美43州架設網路，為這位阿肯色州前州長招募數以千計的志工。哈克比一向用時髦的搖滾樂吸引年輕世代，在南卡羅來納州傅爾曼大學一場盛大的造勢場合，他演奏低音電吉他，和當地一支樂團同台演出，希望和現場群眾搏感情。

The war is the top issue for college students who plan to vote, according to research collected by several groups that track young voter trends, fol-lowed by the economy, health care and the environment.

據一些追蹤年輕選民投票意向的團體所收集的研究指出，有意投票的大學生最關心的議題是戰爭，其次依序是經濟、健康照護和環保。

According to the Youth Vote Coalition, 64 percent of this age group is registered to vote. In 2004, 20 million of them voted, up 4 mil-lion from 2000, according to Rock the Vote. And, importantly, this fig-ure grew at a faster rate than general population growth for the age group, according to U.S. Census data.

據「青年投票聯盟」指出，這個年齡層有64%選民登記投票。而據「撼動選票」組織表示，這個年齡層在2004年有兩千萬人投票，比2000年多了400萬人。最重要的是，「美國人口統計局」資料顯示，就這個年齡層而言，這個數字成長的速度比一般選民成長速度要快。

Young voters helped propel Oba-ma's win in Iowa and McCain's in New Hampshire. Exit polls in New Hampshire indicated that 31 percent of the youngest GOP voting group went for McCain, with 23 percent voting for Romney; 51 percent of young Democrats supported Obama, while 28 percent supported Clinton. In Iowa, Obama won 57 percent of the youth vote, compared to 11 per-cent for Clinton.

年輕選民推助歐巴馬在愛阿華州及馬侃在新州勝出。新州出口民調顯示，共和黨最年輕投票群中，31%投給馬侃，23%投給羅姆尼；年輕的民主黨選民中則有51%挺歐巴馬，挺希拉蕊的只有28%。在愛阿華州，歐巴馬更囊括57%年輕選票，相形之下，只有11%支持希拉蕊。（取材自華盛頓郵報）

《詞解》
twinkling chandeliers 閃閃發光的枝形吊燈
apathetic 冷漠
make a difference 起關鍵作用
across the political spectrum 跨越不同政治光譜派系
banner year 出頭年
cult following 狂熱死忠追隨者
voting bloc 票倉
declare yourself 表態