Are Americans entering a new age of pragmatism?

The Associated Press

The next occupant of this house will be a problem-solver, if younger voters have their say.

Featured Topic | Posted 23 weeks 6 days ago

Are Americans entering a new age of pragmatism?

Will the 2008 presidential election turn out to be the last hurrah for the ideals of the Baby Boomer generation?

More and more, the discussion on the campaign trail is turning away from idealism and toward a discussion of "pragmatism." Stressing practice over theory is nowhere more pronounced than with younger voters. Ben Lazarus, a Yale sophomore who is active in the student group for Obama, put it this way: "There's a new sensibility in how our generation looks at politics and elections. We look at people who are genuine. We look at people who are problem-solvers."

Would America be better off with a president who appeals to people's ideals? Or does the United States need a chief executive who is a practical problem-solver first and foremost?

Ben likes: A different perspective

Victor Davis Hanson/National Review Online

Anyone who saw the Democratic debate Thursday night can envision the new future on their horizon: identity politics and self-congratulation over race and gender; tax increases (back to estate tax hikes, income tax rates go up, payroll tax caps lifted, etc); internationalism for the sake of internationalism (defer to the U.N., E.U., apologies for past conduct, contextualizing terrorism), more government (teachers, the poor, the middle class, etc. all need new government programs to add to those we have), and legislating judges (more Ginsburgs and Breyers).

Joel likes: The Boomers had their day... make way for the Millennials

Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais/Washington Post

American history suggests that about every 80 years, a civic (or Joshua) generation, emerges to make over the country after a period of upheaval caused by the fervor of an idealist (or Moses) generation. In 1828, 1860, 1896, 1932 and 1968, as members of new generations -- alternately idealist and civic -- began to vote in large numbers, the United States experienced major political shifts. This year, the civic-minded millennials, born between 1982 and 2003, are coming of age and promising to turn the political landscape, currently defined by idealist baby boomers such as Clinton and George W. Bush, upside down.