Comment & Debate
William Rees-Mogg. “Barack Obama – a John Kennedy for our times”. Times Online. February 18, 2008 – Yet the core argument of the Obama campaign is both powerful and timely. In American politics each generation looks for a renewal. That may come from either party; it is not simply a matter of a swing from the right to the left. In the first half of the past century it came from Theodore Roosevelt as a Republican and from Franklin Roosevelt as a Democrat.
John F. Kennedy offered renewal in the 1960 election, though an older man, Lyndon Johnson, passed the legislation that gave reality to Kennedy’s promises. There was a renewal of hope in the Ronald Reagan presidency but there has been little renewal since Reagan’s time, which ended 24 years ago.
Senator Obama offers a new generation of ideas that appeal to a new generation of voters. He is the presidential candidate of the young. Senator Clinton and Senator McCain belong to older generations. Americans do not want to return to the issues of the 1990s with Clinton, let alone the 1960s with McCain. Senator Obama identifies with the issues of the 21st century. In 2008 these issues are more relevant than those of a generation ago.