I have a piece on the website New Geography about the role of Boomers on Election 2008. Read it and weep, Boomers!
Ya know, I try really hard not to take shots at baby-boomers, mostly because they’re such an easy target these days, but sometimes you just have to shake your head. Charlie Cook, the most incisive political analyst working today (in large part due to his complete lack of partisanship and dispassionate approach to sussing out the facts) has a very enlightening — and sad — analysis about the presidential race. He has been trying to puzzle out why the race between Obama and McCain is so close. And it turns out that Obama is WAY behind McCain when it comes to white baby-boomers!
In a piece today for the National Journal, he notes that, “The political environment is wretched for Republicans. In the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted June 6-9, respondents preferred a Democrat to win the presidency by 16 percentage points, 51 percent versus 35 percent for a Republican.” So why is the match up between Obama and McCain much closer, he asks?
“Obama trailed McCain by 9 points among both 18-to-34-year-old white voters and those 65 and older. He lagged by 10 points among 35-to-49-year-old whites [roughly Generation X]. But among those 50 to 64, Obama is losing by a whopping 18 points, 51 percent to 33 percent.”
Keep in mind that these numbers include Republicans, but still, aren’t boomers supposed to be the ones who advocated for diversity, tolerance, peace and love and all that crap? As usual for the boomers, those are ideals of convenience — nice only when they don’t cost anything, like their position as leaders of the country or increased taxes. Obama has talked repeatedly about the need for America to turn the page and usher in a new generation of leadership. Perhaps even more to the point, Charlie Cook wonders, “is [Obama's] difficulty that these are voters in their prime earnings years, when they are most sensitive to the issue of taxes?” Undoubtedly. Throw in a little unreconstructed racism and you’ve got an 18 point deficit with a 71 year-old white guy who thinks we should stay in Iraq for 100 years if that’s what it takes to “win,” whatever that means. So much for peace and love.