Scarlett Johansson, Common and Kate Walsh, who are all featured in Will.I.Am.'s popular YouTube video supporting Barack Obama, are just a few celebrities who have gotten involved in the upcoming presidential election.

Stephan Jenkins, lead singer of Third Eye Blind, can now be added to that list. Jenkins, another vocal supporter of Obama, is doing his part by encouraging young people to vote and get involved in the political process as his band continues a tour throughout the eastern United States.

Third Eye Blind may not be stopping in State College, but they will travel to five other Pennsylvania universities in April, including Penn State Erie.

In this Q & A, Jenkins discusses the importance of the youth vote and how this election has inspired him.

Q: What has inspired you to become so involved in the upcoming election?

A: Well, what I've seen is this: I think we've been embarrassed. I think we've been diminished. We've been told to be afraid. I think what Barack Obama is saying is that you should have confidence in yourself. You should have confidence in the ideas and the institutions that make us a people. And I think that's extraordinary and extremely needed.

I'm so moved by [Obama's] speech. There have been so many opportunities for him to cheap out and for him to underestimate the intelligence of the people listening, and he never takes it. That's why I'm inspired. That's what makes me go, "Wow."

I'm not being manipulated by what somebody says. I mean, George Bush is a person who has sort of a disdain for intelligence and knowledge. Bush accepts that we're happily stupid. He's behaved this way, and he has made an absolute hash of foreign policy and our two wars ... But what I intend to talk about is not Barack Obama. It's about you. Because politicians are gonna come, and they're going to tell you what they're going to do for you. They're going to empower you. What you have right now in your life, at this time in your life, is an opportunity to speak to the nation. You have the chance to do the talking. He's behind in Pennsylvania, and the statement that's going to be made to the nation is going to be from you. This is your time to be idealistic and motivated and activated. And I'm trying to say: take it. Get involved in this campaign and make it your own. I really do honestly believe that you can find yourself in it.

Q: Have you been this involved in previous elections?

A: No, because I have really been genuinely inspired. I have seen my values, and I have seen my hopes without feeling embarrassed by the candidate in some way. I can hold my head up and say, here's a guy who has taken no money from special interests. No money. He takes the money from people like us -- from you. From you, giving 25 bucks. He has raised more money than everyone else. He never took the shortcut out. He was like, 'I'm running this thing completely clean.' I want to feel clean about our politics again, because this administration has been nothing but dirty.

Look at that speech he gave in Pennsylvania about race. I'm not saying he's a perfect candidate. I'm not saying he's a perfect person. But we did see greatness there. We did see somebody step up to the plate.

Q: Third Eye Blind is playing at five colleges in Pennsylvania during the next month. Was this tour specifically designed for the promotion of the upcoming primary on April 22?

A: It was not specifically designed, no. It was an opportunity. We're putting out a double live album, and we're putting out a new studio album, and this is a chance for us to go out and play the new album.

But I'm going to speak in the afternoon, and when it comes time for the show, I want people who are passionate about John McCain and Hillary Clinton and Ralph Nader and whoever else to come to the show, and [for] all of us [to] be together. That's the point. So I'm going to talk politics in the afternoon. The end goal of politics is that all kinds of different people can come together. So I want everybody to come.

Q: Does the new music contain political messages?

A: Yes, the new studio album does. All my albums have had a sense of personal politics. Our band is ten years old, and people resonate with that. That's why we got invited to Penn State. There's a personal politic at work, being promoted, that people resonate with.

So the new studio album is not just about personal politics. I think it's more about real politics. It's a more openly political album. I mean, haven't you felt the last seven years that you're sort of blindsided by this child, this person who is just not emotionally equipped to lead? We're coming out of a cloud. I think that John Mayer song, "Waiting on the World to Change" really caught ahold of that apathy. But it's not really apathy. Now, times are a-changing, and I feel our own chance is upon us if we take it. If you take it. If you guys do it.

Q: How do you think your position as a musician can influence people to get out and vote?

A: Well, because I've got a real big microphone and thousands of people who come to see me. It's as simple as that. There's a point in the door to hear me talk. Once I start talking, about fifteen seconds in, you're gonna make up your mind whether it's worth your time or not. Politics has been something I grew up in. My father was a political science professor. So instead of talking baseball scores, I've always talked politics all my life. I have sort of a lifetime verse in it. And I really, really love America. I'm totally fascinated with it.

Q: How important do you think the youth vote is in this election?

A: You guys are so crucial. Not since people marched in 1951 down in places like Georgia and Alabama where they were not wanted [was the youth vote so crucial]. They were exactly your age. ... Not since that time has there been such a possibility for young people to turn the tide.

Q: Besides voting, are there other ways for students to get involved in the election?

A: Absolutely. There's three things I want to accomplish through this interview. First, that people know that they need to register to vote and that you don't have much more time. Secondly, learn your polling place. Find out where it is, and commit yourself to go in advance. Don't put it off. What I mean is, days ahead, know that you're going to do this, just like it's a term paper. Thirdly, you have the energy, you have the intelligence, and you have the possibility now to get involved. All those little bits that students do right now can have a momentous impact on this election, where we go as a nation, and how we define ourselves as a people.