It seems like 2008 could go down as the Year of the Youth. Perhaps this will be the year remembered as the moment when young Americans finally turned off their iPods, put away their PS3s, and became a political force to be reckoned with.

I happened across several stories today that mentioned the growing political power, involvement, and activism among young Americans.

First, the Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne wrote that this will be “The Year the Youth Vote Arrives.” She concludes:

Young Americans show all signs of being interested enough and upset enough to flock to the polls this year. If they do, they could be the most politically consequential generation since the cohort of the Great Depression and World War II. Think of these newcomers as the Engaged Generation.

I, of course, as one of those “young Americans,” am still skeptical of hyped predictions that youth voter turnout will “tip the election” (re: 2004, for starters). But Dionne may wind up being correct in her prediction that “this time,” finally, the youth vote will actually materialize. Time will tell.

Facebook, too, is revolutionizing the way young people get engaged in politics:

In January 2007 Farouk Olu Aregbe, a student government coordinator at the University of Missouri, launched a Facebook group, “One Million Strong for Barack.” A year later, the group had signed up half a million “friends” (in Facebook lingo) as Obama supporters.

Further evidence of the way technology is reinventing American politics, a Pew Research poll last month found that:

Fully 46% of all Americans have used the internet, email or cell phone text messaging to get news about the campaign, share their views and mobilize others.

But aside from voter turnout and enthusiasm, there are other areas in which young Americans are making their political mark — for instance, as actual candidates.

Much attention has been devoted to Obama’s young age vis-a-vis the average presidential candidate (he’s just 46) — one columnist in the Chicago Tribune even jokingly wondered whether, using a “living interpretation” of the U.S. Constitution, Obama might be “too young” to be President.

But Obama’s not the only young candidate making waves in this election cycle.

A small group of young, energetic Republican congressmen, known as the “Young Guns,” launched a plan to help fundraise for young GOP candidates who are challenging Democratic incumbents for their congressional seats.

Reps. Eric Cantor (Va.) [age 45], Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) [age 38] and Paul Ryan (Wis.) [age 43] launched the Young Guns fundraising program earlier this year, grabbing the headline of a Weekly Standard feature in the process. It heralded the 30-to-40-something swashbuckling trio as just the right fresh faces to lead the party and wrest the majority back into Republican hands.

The threesome has trained its sights on a list of 17 challenger races and five open-seat contests…

The idea, McCarthy said, is to support not only those candidates who are relatively young in age, but also those who have fresh, new, formidable résumés…

“We’re going on offense,” McCarthy declares in his usual ebullient, guns-blazin’ style. “We’re supporting those candidates who have shown that they are dedicated to conservative values and a commitment to rebuilding the Republican Party. ”

In addition, Illinois State Rep. Aaron Schock is running to succeed the retiring Rep. Ray LaHood and keep Illinois’ 18th Congressional District (Peoria area) in Republican hands. If elected (Schock is the “heavy favorite” in a safely Republican district), Schock would replace North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry as the youngest member of Congress:

Elected to the Peoria School Board at 19, and to the state Assembly at 23, Schock would be just 27 years old when sworn into office with the 111th Congress in January, making him the first person born in the 1980s to win a seat in the House.

Several of the potential vice-presidential picks for both candidates are near or below the half-century age mark.

• Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) is 52.
• Democratic Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine just turned 50 in February.
• Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) is not only the most popular governor in the United States (her approval rating hovers near 90 percent) — she’s also only 44.
• Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) turned 37 last month.
• Sen. John Thune (R-SD) is 47.
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) (often cited as one of the finalists for McCain’s VP pick) is 48.

Behold, the power of they who hold the conch shell. (And let’s hope that literary analogy ends there.)