It's about time young voters got some well-deserved credit...and they should be getting plenty after tonight. Young people showed that they were politically engaged, passionate, and motivated as they turned out en masse for the Iowa Caucuses.

CIRCLE reports that over 56,000 folks under the age of 30 showed up to caucus in Iowa tonight, despite a caucus date smack dab in the middle of winter break for students, freezing temps, and long lines. According to CNN Entrance polls, 22% of Democratic caucus-goers were between the ages of 17 and 29. This represents a 5% increase over 2004.

Even more interesting is the fact that the number of young caucus-goers equaled the number of voters over 65, according to CNN. The senior vote has long been considered a hot commodity in politics and has made issues like social security and Medicare top-tier. One can only hope that youth issues like college affordability, global warming, and the war in Iraq will skyrocket to the top of candidates' priority lists, after young people have flexed their voting muscle.

Tonight's caucus clearly demonstrated that investing in young people can have enormous payoffs--something Campus Progress and other youth activist groups have believed strongly for years. Looks like 2008 could be the year when youth is relished rather than written-off.