My first look at the functioning of the American political machine up close and personal was during the Democratic and Republican primaries of 2008.

And, like most of America, I got particularly caught up in the sport of the increasingly dramatic battle between Clinton and Obama for the blue nomination, though I had not quite enough history with either candidate to be hugely invested.

Though I didn’t know it at the time, wandering down to Seattle one rainy afternoon to see what all the fuss was about, like a tourist with nothing better to do, I was one of the lucky few to get a seat at the Key Arena to see and hear Senator Obama in person. The vibe was more like Lollapalooza than convention center.

Since getting involved in community journalism I have had the misfortune of being exposed to a great deal of political rhetoric. At a local, state, and federal level, wherever there is campaigning there are promises, castles made of sand, and other things that are the reason why so many people all around the world are cynical about those who have been elected to represent them.

But amid the camera flashes, the screaming, the dancing and the underwear throwing, Obama said a few things that transcended popularity and made genuine and obvious sense to me.

One of them was about our young students. With many of them in the audience, Obama said he would reduce the cost of tertiary education, as part of his plans to build a smarter American workforce.

Oh yeah, I thought, he’s wheeling out this tired old shoe, I’ve heard this before. I had been frustrated for years by the student union campaigns in Australia for “more student loans, less student fees,” which just didn’t seem to comprehend the basic fact of a limited pool of money.

But what Obama said next resonated with me and kept making sense, though I tried to find the hole in it.

“But I expect something from you in return,” he said.

He went on to talk about the idea of placing a quantifiable value on the social works that so many America schools and universities already provide — Red Cross programs, manning youth clubs, environmental restoration works, fundraising, care for the elderly, charitable missions overseas…

He was talking about an infrastructure of public activity that saves the nation many millions of dollars every year, a level of activity which distinguishes this country from all others I have seen. The energy to give and contribute to a society you see as needing help seems almost boundless among the young students, as I see every week, beautifully demonstrated this week by the students at Liberty High School.

This energy is a resource that provides quanitifiable service, and Obama was right in thinking that if we can better harness this, and recognize its contributions fully, then we might be able to find a way to make more affordable access to our colleges and universities pay for itself.

Groups like our local Rotary clubs recognize these contributions, and even place a monetary value on them, through their scholarships.

A more advanced government will hopefully encourage and make better use of this resource, tapping into what was once thought to be just good spirit, but which has been shown to have true social and economic value.