generation

The influential pollster John Zogby couches his analysis of Hillary Clinton's defeat in terms of generation. "Boomerism" has been swept off the political landscape by an electorate tired of its leaders' "self-centredness and permanent adolescence" - the supposed "hallmarks" of the Baby Boomers. According to Zogby, both the Clintons and George W Bush exhibit the traits of their generation:

They (we, because I was born in 1948) are consumed with being the centre of attention, the bride and groom at every wedding, so much so, that the ends don't simply justify the means, they are one and the same. Getting elected is the game, the final goal, the definition of self-worth. In his recent book, former White House spokesman Scott McClellan decried the mentality of “the permanent campaign” that he said permeated the White House of George W Bush (the other Boomer president), which in some respects mirrors the Clinton behavior.

Politics, or their illusion, are an end in and of themselves for Bush and the Clintons. Both Obama and McCain represent, in separate ways, a less self-centred politics.

In the final analysis, Hillary Clinton is smart, charming – and the wrong person for the times. Voters have moved beyond Boomerism. Now, Americans will choose between an older version of duty, honor, glory, and a return to the American Century vs. a new vision of global pluralism, diversity, change, and youthful vigor.

To illustrate our earlier post on the gloomy economic future of America's young, below is a graph of their slumping average earnings, from the Economic Policy Institute.

Bob Herbert in the NYT picks up on the growing number of studies and surveys done about the political orientation of young people in the United States. This generation - dubbed the "Millennials" - between their late teens and early 30s face a far bleaker economic landscape than their parents did. Indicators of the economic decline include a difficult job market, growing student debt, a drop in health insurance coverage and a rise in the percentage of income young people spend on rent.

In its report - "The Progressive Generation" - on the economic views of the Millennials, the left-of-centre think-tank the Center for American Progress suggests that this generation of young people is far more "progressive" than its predecessors, including the grunge-era depressives of "Generation X." That's because the Millennials have their backs to the wall. It is in government - and not in the eternal, self-healing logic of the market - that they seek answers.

As the CAP report outlines, a "majority of 18- to 29-year-olds believe that the government can be a force for good in the economy, and that increased investments in healthcare, education, and other areas are necessary to ensure strong and sustainable economic growth."

Herbert, one of the Times' more liberal columnists, finds cause for hope in the attitudes of the Millennials: "there is very little doubt that over the next several years they are capable of loosening the tremendous grip that conservatives have had on the levers of American power." So too must the Obama campaign be encouraged by the CAP report; Obama has aggressively courted the support of young voters, on whom he may have to rely in November to help overcome the staid pensioners unconvinced by his appeal to "change".