If Barack Obama doesn’t win the Democratic primary, many young voters may find themselves on the sidelines come November.

Let’s get one thing straight. The high Democratic turnouts thus far are not entirely due to Obama’s candidacy, but it would be foolish to deny him most of the credit. It’s clear that if the Democrats don’t nominate Obama, they will be forfeiting a big advantage in voter enthusiasm.

They would effectively be turning their backs on blocs of voters who don’t usually participate. In short, the Democrats would be throwing away one of the biggest opportunities the party has had in a long, long time.

If you attended one of the two major Obama events on campus last week, you know what I mean. Having been at Stanford five years now, I know how hard it is to get a couple hundred students to show up for anything resembling a political rally. We’ve had cynicism wired into our brains courtesy of “The Colbert Report.” Most of us are not about to let ourselves get suckered into dirtying our hands with a political process built on sloganeering and hypocrisy.

That’s why it was so interesting to watch the cognitive dissonance exhibited by the crowds at these events. On the one hand, we were loath to join in the prescribed cheers of “Fire it up!” and “Oh-oh-oh-Obama!” Most people just politely applauded or stood with their arms crossed. On the other hand, we were genuinely mesmerized to hear speakers talking about “politics” without any hint of sarcasm.

For those of you who might be interested in Obama’s candidacy (or anyone’s, for that matter) but are turned off by all the cheering and sign-waving, I’d say it’s high time to let go of your political chastity. I’d also ask you to listen to what Larry Marshall, an Obama supporter and professor at the law school, has to say.

At Friday’s well-attended rally in White Plaza, Prof. Marshall talked about being too young to vote for JFK and RFK in the ‘60s and how thankful he is to be able to vote for Obama now. He talked about how misguided it is to try to “meet the Rush Limbaughs on the other side with a Rush Limbaugh of our own.”

My curiosity piqued, I went to talk with Prof. Marshall at his office, which is decorated with headlines from the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times, back when the dysfunctional death penalty system made our state look like a backwater. As an Illinois native, I remember the news coverage myself.

To illustrate what is so unique about Obama, Prof. Marshall told a story about representing Rolando Cruz, a man who spent 10 years on Illinois’ death row before his conviction was overturned.

“There was a big furor about whether this man was innocent,” Marshall said. “The assistant attorney general believed he was, so she went to the attorney general, Roland Burris, an African-American man who seemed to have his eye on the governorship.”

Prof. Marshall said that Burris, a Democrat, then consulted with his political advisors, who deemed the case a lose-lose situation.

“The last thing an African-American man could afford to be was soft on crime,” Marshall explained.

A few years later, Obama, another African-American Democrat, “stuck his neck out” by working with the deeply unpopular Republican Gov. George Ryan to champion a package of death penalty reforms that included new rules about videotaping police confessions, eyewitness identification and the use of jailhouse informants. Rather than being perceived as soft on crime, those reforms are now seen as helping to spark a national dialogue about the death penalty.

So, at a time when Hillary Clinton is making hay out of her supporting role as first lady, Marshall’s story about death penalty reform in Illinois redefines what the debate over “experience” is really about. Marshall knows first-hand how it takes the right person to capitalize on an opportunity.

As students, we’ve got to get beyond our suspicion about signing on to any movement, a suspicion that exists for good reason but too often boils down to a self-interested fear of giving up the perks of our hip aloofness. To those of you who point out that Obama himself has become a paragon of hipness, I’d say: Sure, the Black Eyed Peas made a video about him but, come on, politics will never be as cool as apathy. It always involves putting yourself on the line.

That’s why tomorrow is so important. As Prof. Marshall, referring to the infrequency of inspiring presidential candidates, told students on Friday: “You have four days to avoid another 40 years in the desert.”

Make that one day, Professor.

Brendan promises that his regular column with Dave Herbert (starting on Wednesday) won’t be so preachy. Send him your cynicism at bselb@stanford.edu.