Obama Hits Generational Divide: Baby-Boomer Clinton Can't Unite The Country

Washington Times:

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama attacked his chief rival as out of step with the times and too locked in 1960s social and cultural battles to deal with new challenges that require a different and perhaps younger perspective.

"I think there is no doubt that we represent the kind of change that Senator Clinton can't deliver on, and part of it is generational," Mr. Obama told Fox News yesterday about the difference between himself and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. "I mean, Senator Clinton and others, they've been fighting some of the same fights since the '60s, and it makes it very difficult for them to bring the country together to get things done."

Read the whole story: Washington Times

Comments

[oafishcad]

Senator Obama is ageist. That is just as much bigotry as racism. Too bad. I can't vote for a bigot for President.

[HippieChick]

Barack Obama (or those "handling" him) makes a mistake with this divide-and-conquer strategy. To attack a group of people because of their age is right up there with attacking a group of people because of the color of their skin or sexual preference. This isn't "Logan's Run" - it is America, and I have serious concerns about a man who would speak words indicating that age has anything to do with political insight or understanding. Profiling has no place in political discourse; as a "black" man he should understand this.

[OhPlease2007]

Hillary's camp pandered to the female demographic with divisive talk about the men piling on, now Obama is also divisively pandering to the young demographic by claiming baby boomer's are part of the problem? Not too bright Mr. Obama; history accurately shows the younger generation in the last '04 election (Deanie Babies) went for Howard Dean, and Dean got his head handed to him in Iowa.
My prediction is that Obama will be the next Howard Dean in Iowa; there are more baby-boomers that vote in Iowa than young people. It's a wild crap-shoot for Obama -- who obviously garners a lot of young support -- to bet that the younger generation will outperform the baby-boomers at the voting booth in Iowa. History accurately shows young people may support a certain candidate, but they do not get out the vote in enough numbers for it to matter. Will this election be important enough for the younger generation to break out of their pop culture MTV trance to get out the vote for Mr. Obama in Iowa -or- New Hampshire? We will just have to wait and see if history is prooved wrong in this election cycle.

John Edwards has my vote.

[BlueLogic]

Umm memo to Obama...mo­st of the Iowa caucus-goers are old "grayhairs" so don't play the AGEcard too swiftly..m­'kay?

Who's running this man's campaign? Donna Brazile? SHEESH!

[milo9]

He's way way way off track with this. Who does this serve? It's seems to me that it is less an attack on Hillary than baby boomers in general. And he misses the point that Bill and Hill, many years ago, sold out the ethos of the sixties. I think with this pronouncement Obama is finished.

[RusStyles]

I agree also...The only thing I'd modify is exchange "can't" for "more difficult" or "unlikely". As I'm sure that's what he meant. Of course it's less likely that HRC would be as in tune with 30-45 year olds core issues. Not--in my mind--a vital distinction, but nevertheless one that merits articulating. I doubt if he makes it a cornerstone of his stump speeches.

[ljsfolly]

I am for someone who unite us not divide us into the before and after generation. I am so tired of the little blurps of what is said anywhere being brought up as the main topic out of contex. This country has been divided into red and blue, for and againest and many other ways instead of standing up for who we think we really are Americans who live in the United States of America. We have a Constitution whose Bill Of Rights has been sorely abused and taken away from us in big chunks and as long as there is someone willing to force division we will not be able to sustain the country for which we profess love and our past generations have fought and died for and for which bush has hijacked our loved ones now to fight in a war built on lies. We no longer have the respect of others and we are no longer a super power or super anything. Our country is losing what we stand for and too much blood has been spilt while we watch the celebrities and everything else which matters little to who we are together. Is anyone really going to bring us back to where we once stood proud of who we are? Not unless we start standing and walking together. Who will lead us?

[Ginzaman]

One point that Obama's wrong on. The fights over these '60s issues continue because they still need to be fought. Maybe he should do some research before he speaks?

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

you people are worse than the Moonies who wrote this article.

this article is about how Obama is the Education Candidate.

[martinchill]

WHO WROTE THE PATRIOT ACT?

WHO WROTE THE PATRIOT ACT?

WHO WROTE THE PATRIOT ACT?

WHO WROTE THE PATRIOT ACT?

WHO WROTE THE PATRIOT ACT?

[ednadumpling]

If obama thinks the goopers are going to behave any differently towards him he is too stupid to be president

and suck on it for the rest of you
more boomers vote than anyone else and the older we get the more we vote. The only people living in the 60's are the goopers and that is more like the 1860's

grow up

[outnow]

You can't trust anyone over thirty used to be the saying. Now it's sixty. Move over HRC, here comes Obama. I know it's age discrimination, and even the boys against the girls, but the progressive left and the younger generation(s) don't want you. The vast right wing conspiracy and the progressive wing of the Democratic party see through triangulation. It's called becoming too establishment and selling out. Hard left rudder! This election isn't 1992. There's reforming to do, or just plain old adjustment to the new dictatorship of IL Duce Rudy. Kind of like adjusting to global warming. You get used to not having polar bears or even New York for that matter. Pat Robertson wants God to drown it, too. Too much sin.

[4217smith]

I thought that the baby boomer birth years were 1946-1964 which includes Obama. And there are some pre-boomer fuckups to blame as well. As for uniting the country, who can do it at this point? This country will be divided for years to come, unfortunately.

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

Obama stands for education. Hillary stands for war.

[Mrrar]

Thankyou.

I'm tired of the Baby Boomers. They aren't prepared for the shift of society into a new era. They have illustrated, again and again, that (by and large) they don't understand the Internet. They don't understand what Copyright law should be. They don't understand why or how they messed up. They don't understand what they've done to our country.

I'm tired of the Baby Boomers, they need to let go of their power-hungry obsessions and let the next generation step up.