End of the reign of the Boomers

Of all the great things about an Obama candidacy and possibly presidency, one that has been greatly overlooked, in my opinion, is how important he his in terms of moving us away from being a country ruled by the Baby Boomers.

Let's face it, the Boomers have been an absolute scourge of locusts on this country. Our grandparents lived through the Great Depression and won World Wars. Our parents smoked dope, forgot their 60's radicalism and got greedy in the 80's and 90's, and have kept us bogged down in a "culture war" for 40 years now, since the end of Vietnam.

We are all quite sick of it, and we are desperately in need of a change in leadership that can only come about with a demographic shift. That brings us to the millenials.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/goodbye-to-al-1.html

They supposedly outnumber the Boomers by about 20 million, so by 2016, when they can all vote, they should be a formidable force. However, it begs the question, will they be any better? So far, millenials have been called out as being just as self absorbed as their parents, if not more so, and more coddled to boot. It could be a toxic combo, but they have grown up in a more integrated society, and tend towards more progressive notions, even among the conservative millenials.

So there is hope. Just for fun, here's an old Paul Begala piece on why the Boomers suck so bad. The first paragraph should draw you in:

I hate the Baby Boomers. They're the most self-centered, self-seeking, self-interested, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-aggrandizing generation in American history. As they enter late middle age, the Boomers still can't grow up. Guys who once dropped acid are now downing Viagra; women who once eschewed lipstick are now getting liposuction.