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Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean excited a crowd of young Democrats Wednesday as he encouraged them to make a difference in the upcoming presidential election.

In his speech, Dean commended the group of young students, some of whom marched from Library Mall to the City Clerk’s Office — where voter registration takes place — to hear Dean speak.

“This is an extraordinary generation,” Dean said. “You go abroad and do good things for tough people. You’re fueled by idealism. This is your time to make your mark. This is your transition from student or teenager to adult. This is the time to enter and contribute to the community.”

Dean emphasized the importance of the student voice during this election and encouraged students not just to vote, but to go out into the community and get involved.

“This is not just about you going out to vote,” Dean said. “Democracy, like every other invention, will die if it’s not nurtured, and you’re what nurtures it.”

Dean also emphasized the differences between Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and McCain, saying, “McCain is not from the 1950s, but the 1850s, really and truly. Obama is the first new generation candidate. He speaks and thinks like your generation.”

He also laid out two goals he feels are important for the next president to address, the first of which is to heal America and bring people back together again.

“One of the messages of your generation is to stop fighting about what we can’t agree on and work with what we can agree on,” Dean said. “This country belongs to everyone whether they agree with us or not.”

Secondly, Dean said that voters must restore moral authority to the United States as Truman, Carter and Clinton did by electing a president who is respected across the world — a task for which he believes McCain is not qualified.

“You don’t get the moral authority by petulance or by depending on the barrel of a gun,” Dean said. “The reason America is not well respected is because Bush and McCain don’t understand that you must have the moral authority to sit down with your enemies when trying to defend America.”

Not everyone agrees, however, including College Republicans Chair Sara Mikolajczak, who voiced her dissent to Dean’s statements.

“Obama has next to no morals as far as I’m concerned, and to speak of him as a moral authority is laughable,” Mikolajczak said.

In response to which candidate is best for the younger population, Mikolajczak said that Obama wants to restrict choice — the one thing students really want — with government-run programs whereas McCain wants to give students choices “with all our basic needs and beyond.”

However, Claire Rydell, chair of the College Democrats, said now “is our moment to send Obama and Biden to the White House, two people who understand our generation. We cannot afford four more years of the same.”

Rydell introduced Dean, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk at the event, all of whom support Obama and urged students to make the difference in November.

“Every vote counts, and that’s why the young vote is partially important,” Cieslewicz said. “Madison could be the community that decides Wisconsin, and young voters could be the votes that decide Madison.”