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Two days later, Clinton won the New Hampshire primary. Humiliated, the pundits and prognosticators who expected an Obama victory went into paroxysms of guilt. We trusted the polls! they said. It was the echo chamber! But no one mentioned generational bias. Most of the reporters in the Winnacunnet press pen were embeds or bloggers—the eyes and ears of their newsrooms. Almost all were my age. And for many, Iowa was their first big election. Seduced by the familiarity—the "rightness"—of Obama's message, it was hard, as millennials ourselves, not to assume that it appealed equally to everyone. But the truth is, we're far more coddled and comfortable than previous generations. Weaned on self-esteem and offered unlimited choice (technology again), we grew up with a sense of entitlement—specifically, for control. And in New Hampshire, it seems, some Democrats heard something like entitlement in Obama's gauzy pledge to "change Washington." Untroubled by debt, or joblessness, or unsupportable children, Obama's millennial fan base (and the older, typically wealthy whites who vote with them) can afford the luxury of privileging process over policy. Clinton, on the other hand, ditches the packaging and goes straight to the product—the plans she'll fight Republicans to pass. It may not have the same "cool factor" as Obama's brand, but to Clinton's base of women, Latinos and downscale Dems, it's enough to seal the deal.

Now that the race is deadlocked, I have no idea which generation of leadership Democrats will choose: the boomer Clinton, who promises to play by the old rules and win, or the millennial Obama, who promises to change the rules entirely. But the next time I'm tempted to write that Obama's "on fire," I'll remember Joanne Barton, a New Hampshirite I met at Exeter's Loaf & Ladle café that Sunday between the Obama and Clinton events. Decades ago, Barton suffered a car crash while pregnant; her baby was born with disabilities, and after more than a dozen operations, she still walks with a cane. Clinton had always been a hero. "When I was in that hospital bed, I saw her on TV with her chin up, leading Chelsea by the hand," she told me. "That was after Monica, and it's always inspired me to keep my chin up, too." Barton was still deciding between the candidates when we met, but two days later she went with Clinton. "I'm not a rah-rah person," she said. "And Obama's relying too much on rah-rah. He's not addressing our concerns."

Whether true or not, there are plenty of Democrats who agree. So I'm going to hold off on that steak dinner for now.

© 2008

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Member Comments

  • Posted By: Vigilance @ 01/28/2009 10:58:21 AM

    you make friends here every day, roller.

    http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/02/11/obama-s-pesky-muslim-problem.aspx

    keep reading til you see your name :) you're famous now!

  • Posted By: abadreview @ 07/30/2008 6:32:20 PM

    Wow, the person below me should be locked up for hate crimes. It's fine if you don't want to vote Obama, but who let you out of your cage?!?!? You are a pathetic disgrace and we don't need you on the good side.

  • Posted By: willnotvoteobama @ 07/05/2008 8:52:18 AM

    This section of DiscoverTheNetworks examines Barack Obama's connections to a number of key individuals and organizations. In some cases, these affiliates are notable for the leftist views and objectives they share with Obama. In other cases, they are notable for their collaboration with Obama in controversial or unethical activities. In all cases, they offer a window into Barack Obama's values and priorities. Taken as a whole, they verify Thomas Sowell's observation that Obama has "spent decades aiding and abetting people who hate America."


    Radical and Socialist Influences:

    Saul Alinsky
    Bill Ayers
    Carl Davidson
    Frank Marshall Davis
    Democratic Socialists of America
    Bernardine Dohrn
    Gamaliel Foundation
    New Party
    Socialist Scholars Conference


    Political Allies and Advisors:

    Ali Abunimah
    Mohamed Salim Al-Churbaji
    David Axelrod
    Gregg Craig
    Jim Johnson
    Marilyn Katz
    Anthony Lake
    Robert Malley
    Alice Palmer
    Eli Pariser
    George Soros
    Cass Sunstein
    Dorothy Tillman
    Joyce Wheeler
    Tim Wheeler


    Religious Affiliations:

    Louis Farrakan
    Rev. Joseph Lowery
    James Meeks
    Rev. Otis Moss
    Rev. Michael Pfleger
    Rev. Al Sharpton
    Jim Wallis
    Rev. Jeremiah Wright


    Organizational Affiliations:

    ACORN
    Arab American Action Network
    Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C.
    International Crisis Group
    MoveOn
    National Council of La Raza
    Planned Parenthood Federation of America
    Project Vote
    Sojourners


    Academic Affiliations:


    Rashid Khalidi
    Edward Said
    Cornel West


    Foundations:

    Joyce Foundation
    Woods Fund of Chicago


    Money Scandals:

    Nadhmi Auchi
    Robert Blackwell, Jr.
    Tony Rezko


    Family:

    Michelle Obama
    Raila Odinga

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John McCain is the presumptive GOP nominee for president. In the face of serious opposition, his campaign is reaching out to movement leaders and trying to make nice.