"For What It's Worth," Buffalo Springfield

Much has been written and said about the historic first of a woman or an African American running for president, but a third, critical force could blow the doors off the Democratic race.

Age.

Or, more to the point, a generation gap.

On paper, it doesn't seem like much. Only 14 years separate Barack Obama, who is 46, and Hillary Clinton, who turned 60 last October. If you're keeping score at home, Republican front-runner John McCain checks in at 71.

Obama's sweep of the Potomac primaries on Tuesday Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia puts him a handful of delegates ahead of Clinton, whom many assumed would parlay a Super Tuesday sweep into a Valentine's Day coronation of her nomination.

Not happening.

Something is happening, however.

Yes, race and gender are alive and entwined and writing the pages of history for this Democratic primary. That's how it should be: We need to confront our ghosts, to vet our notion of racial and gender equality, to move past the past.

We need to supply an answer to that annoying question: "Is the country ready for a black president or woman president?"

Hint: Here's the answer Hello? It's 2008.

Besides, in America, where freedom rings, we are inexplicably given to substitute adjectives, swapping out black or woman for Latino, Catholic, Mormon. The list of limitations could go on.

Age, however, has played a relatively minor role juxtaposed with race, gender and religion.

Rock star

Not any more.

Millions of millennials, born roughly from 1980 to 2000 and millions more who aren't so young have been taken with Obama's message, if I can be so audacious as to call it hope.

They are rejecting the old political paradigms, they are about sending texts rather than filling back rooms with smoke. They are wanting more than the partisan, bitter landscape previous generations have left them to tend.

We can parse platforms and analyze details of the candidates. Obama's remarkable rise, however, has more to do with his character, demeanor and intelligence than his plan for Social Security and health care, as important as each is.

Go ahead. Call him a rock star. Call him charismatic. A prominent conservative columnist said we were "infatuated" with him. Whatever. He has fueled a renewed interest in the democratic process.

Instead of trying to explain away his popularity as something fleeting, we should consider the generational message at play.

For many, Clinton represents the baby boomers my generation who set out to change the world but eventually found themselves seated at the political table marked "status quo." We could argue that, but the perception is undeniable.

In some ways, my generation has had its chance. After 16 years of boomer presidents, I sense much of America is ready to move on.

Fourth 'I'

Granted, whoever gets the nomination, some voters in the general election will consider race or gender. Some may pull the lever based on hairstyle or rumor, the attitude of the candidate's spouse or GPA of their children.

The vast majority of voters, I hope, will be informed and involved and inclined when they mark their X.

Obama's generational edge lies in a fourth "I." Not since JFK has a young candidate so fired the imagination of voters, who look to leaders they believe can change the status quo and, in doing so, the world.

The question Democrats must answer is what to do with all that energy, regardless of who is nominated.

Ignoring such a generational force and those older voters tagging along ignores the obvious.

Something is happening.

George Ayoub is senior writer at The Independent.