Boomer Fatigue
So I'm watching Hardball and this guy John O'Neill author of the book Unfit for Command is on trying to defend his transparent screed to Chris Matthews and a pro-Kerry veteran guy. He's not faring well. To be fair, it is two vs. one and Chris is really coming down hard on the guy, but I don't feel that bad for him.

I will admit I enjoyed watching O'Neill get ganged up on and having his "evidence" directly refuted right to his face. Look, I understand that some vets are pissed off about Kerry testifying before Congress about war crimes and whatnot in Vietnam after he got back, but you can't make a contribution to a work like this when all of the evidence from the time (circa 1969) in your own words are exactly the opposite to what you're claiming now.

Publically Bush is trying to have it both ways , saying how Kerry did "noble" service while refusing to denounce the ads and related book and blah blah blah blabbity blah...

I'm sitting there looking at Chris Matthews get all apoplectic and it struck me: we're going to have to listen to his shit for twenty more years.

The really depressing, horrifying truth is this: this is only the second All Baby Boomer Generation Presidential Election™.

Every four years now we're going to have to re-fight the Vietnam War. The degree to which we'll have to will depend on who is running.

Kennedy (1960) was the first of his generation to reach the White House. It took 32 years to get to the next one (Slick Willy in '92), so we're looking at 2024 before someone of my generation ascends (I'll be 50). Clinton ran vs. WWII guys twice (Dole and Bush Sr.) both heroes, which counted for nothing electorally because WWII stories had ceased to be personally relevant for a majority of the population as Boomer Ascendency polluted our political system for good.

So we're stuck for the forseeable future. Long, slow sigh. Then we can move on to "Generation X", people like me, who having nothing notable or even recognizable as a common point of contentious reference we all have to dance around. Body piercings maybe, but that's it.

In the mean time, the wild card, of course, will be female candidates, never eligible for the draft. Or maybe to get two draft dodgers to run against one another, that would be good. But then it won't be about just the war, oh no, then it will be about who smoked what when (and whether or not they inhaled), who roadied for what band, who was a big ol' free love whore, etc.

But I guess that won't happen. One more thing ruined by 9/11. Everyone's gotta be all butch and military all the time. No more swingin' Good Time Charlies like Bill Clinton.



This post on the Narcissus Scale: 3.9


Pops

- posted by Pops @ 12:40 PM