After two long weeks of speaking with Idaho voters, watching every night of convention coverage religiously and joining hundreds of voters at some of Idaho’s biggest acceptance speech watch parties, it is apparent there is a clear enthusiasm gap between the two parties, even in Idaho.

The first party I attended was in Boise at the Basque Centre, a popular convention hall in downtown Boise, where I joined more than 300 Democrats to watch Obama deliver his acceptance speech.  The crowd was surprisingly young, boasting impressive numbers of high school and college-aged voters. 

The second party was at the Kenworthy Theatre in Moscow, Idaho, where I sat with 90 Republicans and watched McCain’s acceptance speech.  This crowd was noticeably less enthusiastic about McCain’s speech and was also less diverse. 

“As a student and someone who is influenced by my college choice based on scholarship money, the part about giving $4,000 credits to students who give back to their community is something I really appreciated,” said 19-year-old Kianna Reese, an Obama supporter from Boise.

While both groups were enthusiastic at key points in the speech, the Democrats were off the charts.  The 300+ voters were explosive with their reactions to Obama’s speech talking points, with heavy emphasis on his anti-war views and his economic views.

“I was absolutely captivated and stunned,” said Justine Cook, state coordinator for Students for Obama and spokesperson for the Boise State University College Democrats group.  “It was better than I hoped it could be.  He reaffirmed the reasons why I support him and reconfirmed my trust, dedication and confidence in his campaign.  I was specifically impressed with how he communicated to students  and people who are below the poverty line.”

Cook said he also satisfactorily addressed the details in his policy proposals that have been lacking throughout the summer, according to some. 

“The fact that he laid out a plan that everyone’s been bothering him about – he busted it out with confidence, along with where he’s going to get the resources to do it,” she said.

Meanwhile, Republicans were more dormant in Moscow, where I heard an occasional shout here and there after McCain jabbed Obama.  Interestingly, the most enthusiasm came as a response to partisan attack lines and his POW story, while little response was generated from his issues-based remarks.  Although, any time he mentioned cutting taxes, or Obama raising them, the audience would cheer or grumble, respectively.

Some young voters who share a common thread with McCain’s military service were more impressed  with his speech.  One of the young McCain supporters I spoke with was Jonathan Sawmiller, a 24-year-old law student from Boise, Idaho, who said McCain’s military service spoke directly to him.

“One thing that really touched me in McCain’s speech was his reference to the time he spent in Hanoi,” he said.  “I’m a veteran in the Iraq war and it was something that went deep … what he went through for America. That’s really impressive to me, a guy that has that kind of faithfulness to his country and that kind of character.”

While I wasn’t able to attend a McCain party in Boise, Idaho’s most populous city, the Latah County Republican party booked a well-known theatre in downtown Moscow, a city with about 30,000 residents during the school year.  Unfortunately there were only a handful of young, voting-aged viewers in attendance.  Although, the county GOP chair was quick to disagree.

“There were a lot of young people, and new people who I had not met before,” said Barrett Schroeder, chair of the Latah County Republican Party.  “The announcement of UI Alumna Governor Palin as VP got a lot of people excited, especially in our area.”

Schroeder did concede that the Democrats had a larger turnout at their Latah County watch party, held at the same location, but credited it to the fact that much of the GOP watch party was spurned by the anticipation of Hurricane Gustav and the destruction it was expected to cause.

“We put our event together on very short notice and I was very happy with the response,” he said.  “We had to cut our advertising back due to Hurricane Gustav in the days leading up to the Convention.”