Will Obama Turn Off Baby Boomers?
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An article in the NYTimes today reports that Obama is using his status on a non-baby boomer to set himself apart from other possible presidential candidates . He wrote that,
"I sometimes felt as if I were watching the psychodrama of the baby boom generation -- a tale rooted in old grudges and revenge plots hatched on a handful of college campuses long ago -- played out on the national stage."While he is obviously trying to find a way to turn his his limited experience and relatively young age into a positive message of change that could inspire many, espcially young voters, could he be stepping a bit too far with the message in this case (assuming he contintues to point that out as a distinction). As the article states,
Mr. Obama would be foolish to run solely as the anti-boomer, [...], if for no other reason than that the baby boomers are the largest generation in American history, and they vote.
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Some mild disassociation from Barack isn't going to turn them against him. This will not hurt him nor be an issue with the electorate.
However, I think this becomes relevant in the long run for a couple of reasons.
The Diehard Republicans are becoming increasingly smaller and smaller as the years go on. Our particular generation--although generally apathetic and dis-connected from the political process—tends to reflect a much more lenient and liberal perception of the nature of diversity in a democracy (or democracy outlined by diversity).
This means that much of the Baby Boomer crowd--while morphing into somewhat of a "yuppie class" still might play a significant role in re-defining the swing voting block.
Quite simply then, it could very well be something to at least try to avoid in the future.