There’s an indication, at the very least, in a story posted last night from MSNBC “health writer” Melissa Dahl that the “Generation of Shame” was redeemed yesterday by voting in proportionately significant levels. I think I owe the under-25s an acknowledgment of this, given my suspicious attitudes about their commitments levels. They’re no longer the bad guys in my book. To go by Dahl’s piece, I mean. She’s saying they didn’t cop out, stood up, did right.

Dahl says they “voted Tuesday in higher numbers than in the last presidential election — and they voted more Democratic. Youth turnout appears to be exceeding 2004 levels, which was itself a year with a big surge in voters ages 18 to 29.

“What’s more, young voters may prove to have been the key to Barack Obama‘s victory. Young voters preferred Obama over John McCain by 68 percent to 30 percent — the highest share of the youth vote obtained by any candidate since exit polls began reporting results by age in 1976, according to CIRCLE, a non-partisan organization that promotes research on the political engagement of Americans between ages 15 and 25.”