George W., Hillary, and McCain, and the Last Gasp of "The Me Generation".
March 17, 2008 by Jeff GoldsmithMany Democrats feel dismayed, even betrayed at the unwillingness of Hillary Clinton and her supporters to step aside for the good of the party, and to better our chances of beating McCain. Clinton and her supporters, on the other hand, feel dismayed and betrayed by the lack of deference that Obama and his supporters have shown towards what they regard as Clinton's long-and-hard-earned right to lead our party. This intra-party death match is a classic generational succession struggle, akin to countless others through history. The fight is not about gender or race. At stake is a new "Generation Gap", this one coming on the trailing edge of the Baby Boomers.The boomers are arguably the most idealistic and innovative generation since the founding of our nation. They brought us Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Sexual Freedom, a revolutionary love for the planet as a whole - the Environmental Movement - and an entire culture of caring. These are profound contributions to the destiny of humanity. As the boomers aged, America aged. When they were young and horny, America got "free love". When they were seeking their fortune, America got "yuppies" and gentrification. And when they were old and rich, and worried about staying that way, America got "welfare reform", and tax breaks for the wealthy. Their massive influence upon, and dominance of American life is enabled by a single, simple fact: sheer numbers. Regardless of ideology, Americans born during the Boom share one trait in common - throughout their whole lives there have always been more of them than of their parents, or children. Thus they are in all things self-ratified. Self-ratification has led to many, many excesses, including violent rioting, mass drug addiction, sex in the streets in some cities, rampant divorce, Rovian politics, and above any and all particulars, a culture suffused in a powerful sense of personal entitlement. They are "The Me Generation”. They’re not embarrassed at this because they feel entitled to their entitlement. Not surprisingly, the central ethic of a self-ratifying generation turns out to be greed. The Me’s turned a nation of citizens into a nation of "consumers".Their ambitions have been hampered only by their own incessant sibling rivalry: between their Young Republicans, and their Vietnam War protesters. That in-focused hostility has mounted as they have aged. The Me's are fixated on their Me siblings, and are impervious to the claims of other generations.The oft commented upon “Bush/Clinton dynasty” has an important asymmetry to it that is always brushed over. The two Bush presidents are cross-generational in the most explicit terms possible – George Sr. and George Jr. – whereas (if Hillary is elected) the two Clinton presidents will be intra-generational, again in the most explicit terms possible – husband and wife. There is no better definition of a generation than those examples provide. So despite ideological differences, Bill, Hillary, George Jr., and John McCain, are generational “siblings” - the “Me Dynasty” – and they pushed the generation of Bush Sr. to the side.Recall, if you can, the televised debate between George H. Bush, the father, and Bill Clinton – then at his prime at age 46 – in which the candidates were deprived of podiums, and given tall stools on which to sit. Bush, in his stiff, straight, presidential suit was obviously horribly ill at ease. Clinton, in contrast, slouched on his stool like he was at a bar, and frequently rose up deftly and reached out to individuals in the near-at-hand audience. He moved like he owned the place. When Bill was elected, much was made of the ascendency to power of the baby boomers. He was our third youngest president, knew nothing about foreign policy, but he was smart, and sexy, played sax on Saturday Night Live, and had a gift with words.And if that sounds almost like a description of Barack, it should not surprise us. As Bill was then, Barack Obama is 46 now.That was 1992. Eight years later, in 2000, when George W., the son, became President, W. was 54; exactly eight years older than Bill was when Bill became President. And eight years after that, in 2008, if Hillary becomes president, she will be 61; exactly 7 years older than W. was when W. became President. In short, the age at which a politician may be elected President has, miraculously, perfectly tracked with the aging of the Me Generation.Until Obama.Observing this, we can now more fully understand what Hillary meant by her infamous remarks that “I bring a lifetime of experience to the White House. I know Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he made in 2004.” George W.’s invasion of Iraq - with it’s unutterable rational, “God damit, that’s our oil” - was the penultimate criminal excess of Me-ism. Which is why it is significant that Hillary and McCain both signed on to Bush’s war, with it’s incomprehensible toll of lives, damage to our economy, and lost international good will. And why it is significant that Obama did not. Obama staked his political future to oppose that war - yes, by making “a speech in 2004”. Hillary comments amount to a summary dismissal the claims of any generation but her own. It appears that she would prefer any Me-Generation President, rather than cede power to Obama.All of which explains why Hillary’s supporters have sought to demean, rather than to embrace the younger voters whom Obama has brought into the Democratic Party in such large numbers. They deride Obama supporters as “cult” members and “Kool-aid drinkers” who mindlessly follow their “rock-star super-guru” candidate. This critique is particularly rich, coming from the generation which invented the concepts of rock star and super guru. Remember them screaming non-stop all the way through the Beatles’ concerts? Hillary’s supporters complain that younger voters, who are engaged in the electoral process in numbers never before seen, cannot be relied upon to vote in the fall. So the Me’s have turned on it’s head that old maxim which they coined to justify themselves, and now we must never trust anybody under 30. How convenient. And the only demographic group among which Hillary consistently polls ahead is those over 60.In contrast, inclusivity, rather than identity, marks the generation that followed the Me’s. Obama’s generation rejected both bigotry and identity politics, and chose instead to “celebrate diversity.” Who cares if we have a black President, or a woman President ? We just want a great President. Part white, part black, Christian with Muslim roots, Obama physically embodies multiculturalism. Inclusivity is also reflected in Obama’s extraordinarily broad base of small donors. Moreover, the two campaigns are each rallied by directly contrary ideas regarding the proper locus of political action. Hillary promises “I’ll fight for you”, which casts both herself and the citizenry in the singular form: “I” and “you”. For it’s lack of inclusiveness, this stands in marked contrast to Barack’s assurance to us that “Yes we can”.In Hillary’s refusal to step aside, despite the impossible math, despite the destruction of our party, despite risk to our country, we see again the exemplar of Me-ism. Let’s face it. The Me Generation has never had to concede anything. So they are not likely to cede control of the body politic before their physical bodies give way to decrepitude. DeadElephant.ORG main site 
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