It seems like a lot of "Obamamania" was predicated on the notion that our institutions are pretty fucked up right now and Obama can come in and make things a lot better. He probably won't, so I think the reaction from the millenials (who, presumably, are the folks we're talking about here) to that will be more interesting. Right now, I think we're just seeing a generation's response to one of the first few genuinely charismatic/inspiring-sounding in that generation's memory. Apart from Obama, the record on candidates for president that the public might feel excited about is dismal. Bush Jr, Gore, Clinton (certainly charismatic but not exactly "inspiring"), Dole, Bush Sr.eumaas wrote:I wasn't on board with generational theory until the Obamamania got the guy in office. Now I think it might have some merit.
I get that there's a general criticism here that Obama's oratory isn't actually "all that and a bag of potato chips" but, obviously, it connects with a lot of people so it's worth treating it as charismatic/inspiring even if we're all too smart and cynical to be taken in.
What was the point? Oh, right. I think we're just dealing with a generation that is still acting upon a limited amount of life experience. As more accrues it will be interesting to see how the millenials view themselves related to the state.