by KYW's Brad Segall

A Montgomery County teenager is getting an up-close, firsthand look at what a convention is like. He’s the only student from Pennsylvania taking part in a nationwide program at the Republican National Convention.
 
Fifteen-year-old Brendan Zehner of Glenside, Pa. is part of Junior States of America, a program designed to get kids interested in politics at an early age.

He says he's a conservative who wants to become a professor of political history and educate students that there are two sides to every issue.

Zehner says his interest in politics started a young age:

"You know, you always hear from your parents about what they believe. And you try to say, 'Okay, I like that to a certain extent, but I want to find out more.' And I find myself often being on the same side (as my parents), but I also like to develop my own views as well.”

Where he lives, Zehner says, the younger generation is consumed with Barack Obama because of the way his campaign attracts people using the Internet. But he says Obama has flaws, and it’s not all about the flash and sizzle.
  
(Graphic by KYW's Ian Bush)