Barack Obama's campaign is "The Opening Shot" of the coming 'war between the generations', and/or the last echo of those whose worldviews were shaped by, or prior to, VietNam/the '60's.
Those born in the 1960's now find themselves sandwiched in between people who grew up having to deal with the Draft and those who were raised on cable tv, vcr's, computers/internet, and cell phones. The demarcations also include different views and experiences on/with the role of Government in society, it's methods, and most importantly, it's priorities. The 'in-between'ers' will have to decide whether the U.S. government continues to try to 'police/democratize the world' as it has for the past six decades via economic coercion and military force, or to focus inward to reform itself into a fully-functioning example for others to admire and emulate.
The 'in-between'ers' with few or no personal memories of VietNam/the '60's impact upon U.S. society, including the Democratic Party nominee, will have to choose. Between a man who personally remembers the news of Pearl Harbor, whose views of the proper role of the United States on the world stage were shaped by WWII, the Cold War, his own experiences in VietNam, and the ensuing fallout and rebound from it.
Whereas the younger supporters of Obama have few or no personal memories of Ronald Reagan. Their worldviews are shaped by the ubiquitous interactive technologies they were raised with, and the post-'60's social and political trends accelerated by those new communication tools. Indeed if an 18 y/o voter this November was born to 3 preceding generations of 18 year old parents, John McCain would be but 1 year younger than their great-grandparents.
I expect that a McCain/Obama contest will be the largest generational/age/policy/worldview gap in U.S. history, both literally and figuratively. And it will be but the harbinger of very substantial and often ugly and bitter policy fights over government spending to come over the next decade.
To what extent those born in the 1960's commit themselves to making sacrifices for the future well-being of their children will be the determining factor in the 'generations war' to come. They may act decisively in 2008 or they may not. Only time will tell. But at least they will have a choice.
Unless another Sirhan or another 911 takes that choice away.
