De Jesus read a compelling article from the Atlantic Monthly called “Why Obama Matters,” in which the author argues that Obama is the only candidate who can heal the generational divide between the baby-boomers and the younger generations.

“It isn’t just that Obama is about ending the war,” she said, ‘It’s about ending the war within America that has crippled America. It’s the war over culture, gender, race and religion.

“When the world is changing this rapidly, sometimes the greater risk is caution,” De Jesus said. “We may have found that bridge to the 21st century. His name is Obama.”

Hopp seemed to be channeling Edwards, with his call for a quick end to the Iraq war, his pledge to make health care universal and his promise to reduce poverty. But it was his pledge to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 that really caught the crowd’s attention because this audience knows what it’s like to earn only $7.40 an hour.

“I like that!” one teenager yelled.

Acosta stayed on message. Clinton, she said, is the only candidate with enough experience to step into the White House and hit the ground running. Borrowing a phrase from Edwards, she said, “Hillary Clinton has been standing up for the middle class since Day 1.”

And taking a page from Obama, Acosta said, “She has what it takes to make a new beginning.”

Gomez, a Huckabee man, sounded like he wrote the stump speech himself. More importantly, he sounded like he believed in every word he said.

“I want our children to think outside the box, to think outside the cardboard factory,” he said, looking sharp in a neutral-toned suit. “It’s just as important to encourage children with artistic talent as it is to encourage children with athletic talent.”

Then, Gomez rattled off a bunch of statistics to bolster his argument that the arts make a difference in the lives of impoverished students: Children who are exposed to the arts do better academically; they are less likely to engage in delinquent behavior and they are less likely to drop out.

In keeping with Huckabee’s self-proclaimed outsider status, Gomez was more than willing to rattle the chains of organized labor. In one breath, he promised to oppose the teachers’ union, while in the next, he also said he would raise their salaries.

“We need to hold teachers accountable,” Gomez said, his voice rising. “We need to test teachers as well as students. We should forgive teachers’ student loans to attract high-quality teachers to low-performing schools.”

After the speeches were over, students were invited to vote in a mock presidential election using real paper ballots and an actual voting machine.

A highly unscientific exit poll showed that Obama had captured the imagination of the under-19 crowd.

Here’s a few reasons why:

“Obama comes from the same background,” said Marisol Oppenheimer, a senior. “Race is a big deal. We’ve never had a black president before.”

“Every time he speaks on television, he talks about the future of children,” said Nicoli Beasley, a senior. “That concerns me because I’m going to college.”

But there were a few voters who were swayed by the gender issue. As Robert Beausoleil put it, “I want to see a girl for president.”

When all was said and done, Obama won the Democratic election by a more than 2-1 majority, with 78 votes to Clinton’s 57 votes. Edwards trailed with a total of 27 votes.

On the Republican side, McCain demolished his rivals, scoring 20 votes to Romney’s 6. Huckabee received four votes, Rudy Giuliani received two votes and Fred Thompson, who is no longer a candidate, got one vote.