It seems fair to note that the above observation requires a leap of faith: i.e. that young people will vote in large numbers this year, unlike what has historically been the case. And whereas that is not at all inconceivable--young people do seem more energized than they have been in the past several election cycles--it is far from a given that the youth vote will actually materialize, in any significant numbers. (Come to think of it, George McGovern was quite popular among the same demographic in 1972; in the end, however, he won only Massachusetts and DC--a rather inglorious finish, despite his overwhelming support among young people.)

This is by no means a unanimous opinion. David Yepsen, of The Des Moines Register--a Democratic-leaning newspaper (which, however, is not nearly so leftist as The New York Times)--had this to say about the matter:

"It was one of the most substantive debates in recent presidential campaign history and John McCain won it.

"The Arizona senator was cool, informed and forceful in Friday’s first presidential debate of the general election campaign.

"He repeatedly put Barack Obama on the defensive throughout the 90 minutes session. Obama did little to ease voter concerns that he’s experienced enough to handle foreign and defense policy. That was his number one task Friday night and he failed.

"Instead he was often his old meandering self, unable to state a quick, forceful position. Polls taken in the coming days should show McCain holding on to his trump card in the race - the view that he’s better equipped to be commander in chief. ...

"McCain was expected to win on questions of foreign policy and national defense. That’s been his background. Where he routed Obama was on economic and spending questions as he repeatedly accusing Obama of using earmarks and wanting to spend too much."

Here is the link: DesMoinesRegister.com | Des Moines PluckPersona | The Des Moines Register

You are right, many of the young will not turn out to vote. Why the 18 point shift in the elderly is kinda fascinating, don't you think?

The Bloomberg/LA Times survey you cite is certainly suggestive. I had not seen it previously.

It makes we wonder: Are these findings corroborated by other polls, or is this a mere outlier? And what was the methodology used?

These are not intended as mere rhetorical questions. I do not know the answers. But I would be very interested in learning more about the subject.

a poll gave it to Obama. I was impressed McCain did better then I thought he would "Politically"

I think though there were more times Obama answered the question and McCain sidestepped it.

Round 1 in debates goes to Obama, poll says - CNN.com

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Yeah, but Bobby Kennedy also had a lot of youth support. That's the first political race I ever worked on. My candidate was killed. I was too young to vote, but I'm not sure I would have gone for McGovern if I could.

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Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.
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As far as polls go, going into the debate Obama held a clear lead. So if you are going to judge the debate by polls, all Obama had to do was hold his own and he won it.

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PAT PAULSEN FOR PRESIDENT

If you look at the details of that poll, it consisted of 66% democrats and 33 % republicans..

No wonder the results? DAH..

What good is the poll if it skews the dataset by such a wide margin?

Hmmm.....kinda like when they only give you the option of picking the two candidates, omit the rest, and use these results as justification not to include anyone other than their own in the debates?

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What was that old saying about lies, damned lies and statistics?

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A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."