Scoop08 The Students Entering The Race

Young American pair Alexander Heffner and Andrew Mangino say they have created the first website to harness the power of American students to follow the 2008 presidential election. The two say that they noticed there was nothing like it available to young students like themselves with an interest in politics and particularly the up coming presidential election.

"We noticed there was a void when it came to national, grassroots, student journalism that really could have an impact on issues of importance"

The Website launches officially November 4th. The website is a brand new concept that is exciting to see, it marks a social shift and if the website succeeds in bringing younger members of American society into having an interest in society than it will surely be commended. The website has already sparked an excitement about the election between young political Internet users and it hasn't even launched yet, this website with all its media coverage has a strong chance of succeeding in its goal.

Thomas Patterson, of the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, says the Iraq war played a big part in stirring up the youth vote in 2004 and could do so again if the Bush administration decides to "stay the course" in Iraq, it is not a popular choice for voters aged 18-25, in fact between all ages there is a larger percentage against the war than for and this gap is growing in favour of pulling out American troops. Young voters have also warmed to changes in the presidential debate format, with 77% saying they preferred to see questions put by members of the public, as happened in July's video-based YouTube debate which gained a large audience, compared to 57% of those aged 65 and older.

Developments such as the use of social networking sites, including Facebook and MySpace, in campaigning have also been embraced by voters 18-25. The website it self will be similar, an online student newspaper that the public itself can read and talk about, here is how the website describes itself:

" When it launches this November with the mission of inspiring a new era of politics and reporting, the Scoop08 will be the first-ever daily national student newspaper. Part of a network of young people across the nation - and counting - Scoop08 correspondents and commentators are dedicated to providing in-depth and innovative coverage of the 2008 presidential election. And there is still room for you. The race, after all, is unprecedented. The interest it has generated on high school and college campuses across America is extraordinary. Young people are excited to move forward, and they are willing - perhaps for the first time in a while - to care."

So it seems that this election, we could see some very different results.