"Millennial Generation"
set to rock the vote
By
Carla Marinucci
San Francisco — No,
Illinois Sen. Barack
Obama hasn't been in the
habit of wearing an
American flag on his
lapel.
Yes, he's got some
controversial
acquaintances and has
made some slipups lately
about working Americans
who "cling" to religion.
So won't it be easy for
Republican Sen. John
McCain, Democratic
presidential candidate
Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton
—
and the media
—
to keep painting Obama
as an ultraliberal
elitist who is out of
touch with American
values and working
people?
In another era - when
Baby Boomers were the
overwhelmingly dominant
generation - maybe so.
But with just two days
until Pennsylvania kicks
off the final round of
primaries, political
observers say there's
clear evidence that the
election of 2008
represents a new
universe
—
and a new generation
—
when it comes to White
House contests. And the
political phenomenon of
Barack Obama is symbolic
of the game-changing
attitudes and growing
influence to be wielded
by the upcoming
generation of
"Millennial" voters
—
the largest and most
diverse generation in
American history, born
between 1982 and 2003
—
who already are helping
to shape the race.
Authors Morley Winograd
and Michael Hais, who
just released
"Millennial Makeover:
MySpace, YouTube and the
Future of American
Politics," a book that
examines the seismic
generational and
cultural realignments at
play on the political
stage this year, say the
political pileups of the
past week represent a
perfect example of how
the 20-somethings have
managed to reshape
conventional politics in
the current race for the
White House.
There was Obama's
brouhaha over the
"bitter" comments in San
Francisco
—
fueled by Clinton,
McCain and the media -
followed by a rough
Philadelphia debate in
which Clinton got tough
and ABC moderators got
tougher, peppering him
about his recent
stumbles and gaffes.
That looked to be a
perfect storm that might
have swamped a
first-time presidential
candidate, but it wasn't
Obama who took the body
blows. Instead, ABC's
George Stephanopoulos
and Charles Gibson, the
journalists, were
publicly pummeled for
"gotcha games," and
Clinton came away with
nary a new superdelegate
in her pocket. Nothing
sticking
Meanwhile, Obama
literally brushed it all
off as the old way of
doing things, while both
Pennsylvania and
national polls appear to
suggest that none of it
has stuck to him.
Indeed, he looks even
stronger, said Winograd,
a former senior adviser
to Vice President Al
Gore during the Clinton
administration.
Twenty-somethings "are
driving the presidential
race in a huge way,"
said Annemarie Stephens,
an organizer for the
youth-oriented "Nation
for Change" rally to
celebrate Obama's
campaign today at Frank
Ogawa Plaza in Oakland.
The event, which will
star gospel, hip-hop and
ethnic musicians - like
similar rallies planned
in nearly all 50 states
today - has been put
together almost entirely
on the Internet, she
said.
"People are concerned
about the well-being of
this country," she said.
"It's no longer politics
as usual; we're not
going to stand for the
pettiness."
Jordan D'Amato, 20, a
political science major
at UC Berkeley and one
of the "Millennial
Generation," says coming
of age in an era of the
two-term presidency of
George W. Bush has had a
clear impact on his
political outlook.
"I think the country is
headed in the wrong
direction, and there
have been monumental
failures, like the war
in Iraq," the health
care system and the
economy, he said.
Obama, he said, has "run
a very successful
campaign so far,
proposing a message of
hope" to address those
issues.
"So when he makes a
slipup, and people point
out his relationship to
Jeremiah Wright," the
senator's controversial
former pastor, "you say,
'Yes, he has faults.' "
But, D'Amato said, Obama
isn't influenced by
pundits and politicians
"trying to pick him
apart."
The apparent inability
of Clinton and McCain to
influence voters like
D'Amato and blunt
Obama's trajectory
underscores the
different world and
political view of the
"Millennial Generation,"
which some have
suggested looks
increasingly like the "Obamanation."
Unlike their Boomer
parents
—
those millions of 50-
and 60-something
activists born of
protest and conflict who
accept politics as a
blood sport
—
the younger generation
has come of age in an
era of burgeoning new
technologies providing
tangible evidence of the
promise of change.
"Unlike the conservative
Gen-Xers who preceded
them, or the harshly
divided Baby Boomer
Generation, the
Millennials are united
across gender and race
in their desire to find
win-win solutions to
America's problems,"
Winograd and Hais write.
'Sense of urgency'
"My students feel a
sense of urgency about
the times and the
urgency of now," said
James Taylor, an
associate professor of
politics at the
University of San
Francisco. "They're not
interested in personal
attack, and much more
interested in the hard
issues facing the
country. ... So to talk
about his misstatements
is off-putting for young
people who want hope and
their futures to mean
something."
Indeed, said Winograd
and Hais, younger voters
are increasingly more
likely to question
—
and openly dismiss
—
the old rules of the
"gotcha" politics game.
Practically born
networking on social
sites like Facebook and
MySpace, "their attitude
regarding the media is,
'Who anointed them the
experts?' " said Hais,
who is credited with
identifying the power of
"wired" tech workers in
his research as a
marketing executive. "
'I'd rather pay
attention to my friends
online, and we'll decide
what we think.' "
And neither are they
wedded to blogosphere
slugfests or the
talking-head shouting
matches that have been
the last generation's
hallmarks in political
contests, said Hais.
Irreverent influences
Instead they look to
figures like Comedy
Central's Jon Stewart,
who has jabbed at the
kings of conflict
(MSNBC's Chris Matthews
and Tucker Carlson) on
his "Daily Show," and
tongue-in-cheek cable
commentator Keith
Olbermann, who has won
their hearts by
skewering media
self-importance with
nightly coronations of
"The Worst Person in the
World."
So far, Obama
—
who has referenced how
the "Joshua Generation"
holds the promise to
make good on the past
struggles of the
previous "Moses
Generation"
—
has "intuitively
appeared to address
these generational
themes," Winograd said.
"He's saying we've got
to heal divisions."
By contrast, both
Clinton and McCain have
appeared old-school,
"trying to say (Obama
is) channeling Dukakis,
an insensitive elite who
doesn't understand
people's fears and love
of country," said
Winograd, referring to
former Massachusetts
governor and failed
Democratic candidate
Michael Dukakis. That is
"an attempt to
characterize him in
Boomer terms - but it's
not being heard by those
who listen to a civic
message."
Not all political
observers agree, and
some suggest younger
voters are a long way
from proving their
mettle.
"This is a generation
far removed from any
real troubles in this
country; they've had
every advantage," said
Patrick Dorinson, a
veteran GOP strategist
in Sacramento. "They
didn't sign up for the
draft not knowing if
they would be called;
they've had the greatest
prosperity of any
generation in history
... look in their
bedroom, and there are
iPods, video games and
cell phones."
He said that
20-somethings better
recognize that
—
like it or not
—
they can't expect
McCain, Clinton or any
other contender to back
off their candidate.
"This generation is
going to have to step up
and run this country
some day," he said. "I'm
sorry, politics is
tough, tough sport and
it should test the
mettle of the people we
ask to lead us.
"And we need to know
that a person who leads
this country can take
it," he said. Get used
to it
But Winograd and Hais
warn that Baby Boomers,
Gen-Xers and political
insiders
—
including candidates
—
who hope to continue to
make a difference in the
political universe have
one real option: get
used to the new guys.
The Millennials' power,
the authors say, has
only just begun to be
felt.
"By 2008, almost half of
the largest generation
in American history will
be eligible to vote,
making Millennial
attitudes and beliefs
the key to understanding
how much the dynamics of
American politics will
change before the first
decade of the 21st
century is over," they
write.
"The campaigns,
candidates and events of
the rest of this decade
will determine which
party gains the lifelong
allegiance of this new
generation
—
and with it, the
dominant advantage in
the next civic era of
American politics."
Who are the influential
Millennial Voters?
-
Born between
1982-2003, the
largest and most
diverse generation
in history,
numbering roughly
100 million, or a
third of the total
U.S. population.
-
More optimistic and
upbeat than Gen-Xers
or Baby Boomers
before them, they
believe they have a
greater chance of
bringing about
social change.
-
Technology-born and
bred on YouTube,
Google, Napster,
Facebook, MySpace
and other
innovations.
-
Have "confidence in
the federal
government" and have
no fear of having a
role in it.
-
Two-thirds say
things in America
are currently "off
track."
-
Place greater
significance on
their feeling about
the Republican and
Democratic parties.
-
Voted for Democratic
house candidates
over Republicans by
60 to 30 percent.
Source: "Millennial
Makeover: MySpace,
YouTube and the Future
of American Politics,"
Morley Winograd and
Michael Hais
