Hillary Clinton was born in 1947, Barack Obama was born in 1961. This means that when she gave the commencement address at Wellsley College in 1969, he was around seven years old. More importantly, it means that he missed being a part of the sixties, and he missed all the conflicts that came with the sixties.
Hillary Clinton has been on the right's radar ever since her Wellsley, which landed her on the cover of Life magazine. She followed that up with being on the Democratic legal staff of the House Judiciary Committee which voted out articles of impeachment for President Nixon. Oh, and by the way, she went to Texas in 1972 and worked for McGovern's campaign against Nixon.
She was involved in the anti-war movement and the women's movement, both of which led to deep divisions among Americans. She has been caricatured by the right wing for over three decades, which really intensified when she became first lady. Conservatives hate her, and most have no idea why, they just know they can't stand her.
Barack Obama missed all that because when he was 18, it was already 1979, and the passions of the sixties were ebbing. Indeed, with the ascendacy of Reagan and the new Republican right, liberals were constantly on the defensive. This means that the great movements of the sixties were replaced with activities like community organizing, which, by the way, he did.
One reason why the politics of the nineties was so toxic was that the baby boomers who had violently disagreed over civil rights, the Vietnam War, and women's rights, became leaders in the eighties and nineties. The passions unleashed by those battles continued. It is one reason why the right hated Clinton and the left hates Bush. Not coincidentally, Clinton and Bush were on the opposite sides of most of the cultural battles of the sixties.
Obama has the ability to transcend that divide. This is why Republicans are worried about him. They built the modern conservative movement by using social populism to convince working Americans that liberals were some strange elite who didn't share their values and were attempting to change their America.
That's easy to do with Clinton, who has a long history of articles and activities to draw upon. It is much harder to do with Obama. Most Americans don't really get drawn into politics the way that activists do and the chance to rise above the passions of the sixties may just be irresistible.
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"Rise above the passions of the sixties...". I am terribly disappointed that you would print this article in the newsletter. Political Science 101 teaches that the party supports all of its candidates during the primary season; does not show partiality toward one candidate over any of its other candidates. Hillary has paid her dues. She has been on the front lines dealing with very controversial issues, during very controversial times. Should we denigrate her because she polarizes? I think not! We have suffered through two terms of a president that people "wanted to have a beer with," and how did that work for the country? I have been embarrassed by my country, and am broken hearted to feel that way.
Obama has the "ability to transcend that divide." Charisma? Inspiring? Please! Have you not read "The Wizard of Oz" or "The Emperor's New Clothes"? What has Obama done? He is an empty suit that people are too intimidated to criticize for fear of being labeled a racist. I'm sticking to the facts and studying candidates' stance on the issues, and I am not afraid to speak up. I like what Hillary stands for, and I have not been "inspired" by the Sunday mornin' oratory of Obama.
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