I think you over-idealize the lives of the Greatest Generation. They lived through the Great Depression and the Second World War, and their lives were torn in ways that we can be quite glad we've never had to experience. They spent the rest of their lives largely hiding from the horror of their own experiences.
McCain is Silent Generation, not Greatest. In fact, he's just eight years too old to be a Boomer. For reference, he was born in 1936 -- when WWII ended he was 9 years old. He was a teenager from 1949 through 1955, so he would have been one of those crazy cats jiving to the hip new rock and roll sound while his disapproving Lost Generation parents and Greatest Generation older siblings wondered what he saw in it all.
You could put him on the "cusp" between Greatest and Silent generations, since he was actually a bit too old to fit into full Fifties culture, which didn't really kick in until the late 1950's (his formative years were spent during the time of the Second Red Scare).
The usual bad perception of the Silent Generation is that they are "go along to get along" type folk -- in a (Strauss and Howe) word "Adaptive," -- and that they lack the moral committment to be decisive in the crunch. This may be why none of the Silents have ever become President, while several of the Greatests and two Boomers have already achieved that honor.
Amusingly, before the Left denigrated McCain as a "madman," he had very much the opposite reputation. He was famous for being one of the most conciliatory leading Republicans, which is very much in line with the Silent Generational character. I suspect that McCain is going along a bit with the "madman" critics because it makes him look tougher, which appeals to the Republican base.
(Thomas Sowell wrote a very funny article on this, which I could find the link to if you desire).
Barack Obama was born in 1961, which interestingly puts him on the cusp between Boomers and Slackers -- same place as me. He was born after the 50's and was thus too young to remember JFK. He would have been a teenager from 1974 to 1980, which means that his political role-models would have been the Congress voted for in reaction to Watergate in 1974, and probably Jimmy Carter (though, given his "negotiate with everyone without preconditions" statement, he seems to have learned nothing from the Hostage Crisis).
You, interestingly, are on the cusp between the Slackers and the Millennials.
It'll be interesting to see how the Millennials vote this election. They, more than anyone else, really are buying into the "Obama as Messiah" line, but this has a catch to it -- if Obama become President and then stumbles badly, they will tear him to pieces come 2012.
Likewise, the Millennials' reaction to a McCain victory could be interesting. If McCain wins, they will be dismayed -- yet they are a Civic-Heroic generation like the Greatest, and hence McCain could rally them given skill and competence. They might vote against him en masse in 2008, and vote for him en masse in 2012.
And no, I don't think Obama's very competent. He's shown absolutely no signs of it, and every sign of being a media-manufactured personality. McCain's obnoxious and authoritarian, but at least he's real.
Re: "Allamagoosa" and "The Star"
McCain is Silent Generation, not Greatest. In fact, he's just eight years too old to be a Boomer. For reference, he was born in 1936 -- when WWII ended he was 9 years old. He was a teenager from 1949 through 1955, so he would have been one of those crazy cats jiving to the hip new rock and roll sound while his disapproving Lost Generation parents and Greatest Generation older siblings wondered what he saw in it all.
You could put him on the "cusp" between Greatest and Silent generations, since he was actually a bit too old to fit into full Fifties culture, which didn't really kick in until the late 1950's (his formative years were spent during the time of the Second Red Scare).
The usual bad perception of the Silent Generation is that they are "go along to get along" type folk -- in a (Strauss and Howe) word "Adaptive," -- and that they lack the moral committment to be decisive in the crunch. This may be why none of the Silents have ever become President, while several of the Greatests and two Boomers have already achieved that honor.
Amusingly, before the Left denigrated McCain as a "madman," he had very much the opposite reputation. He was famous for being one of the most conciliatory leading Republicans, which is very much in line with the Silent Generational character. I suspect that McCain is going along a bit with the "madman" critics because it makes him look tougher, which appeals to the Republican base.
(Thomas Sowell wrote a very funny article on this, which I could find the link to if you desire).
Barack Obama was born in 1961, which interestingly puts him on the cusp between Boomers and Slackers -- same place as me. He was born after the 50's and was thus too young to remember JFK. He would have been a teenager from 1974 to 1980, which means that his political role-models would have been the Congress voted for in reaction to Watergate in 1974, and probably Jimmy Carter (though, given his "negotiate with everyone without preconditions" statement, he seems to have learned nothing from the Hostage Crisis).
You, interestingly, are on the cusp between the Slackers and the Millennials.
It'll be interesting to see how the Millennials vote this election. They, more than anyone else, really are buying into the "Obama as Messiah" line, but this has a catch to it -- if Obama become President and then stumbles badly, they will tear him to pieces come 2012.
Likewise, the Millennials' reaction to a McCain victory could be interesting. If McCain wins, they will be dismayed -- yet they are a Civic-Heroic generation like the Greatest, and hence McCain could rally them given skill and competence. They might vote against him en masse in 2008, and vote for him en masse in 2012.
And no, I don't think Obama's very competent. He's shown absolutely no signs of it, and every sign of being a media-manufactured personality. McCain's obnoxious and authoritarian, but at least he's real.