blog.pmarca.com: An hour and a half with Barack Obama
One of the reasons Senator Obama comes across as so fresh and different is that he’s the first serious presidential candidate who isn’t either from the World War II era (Reagan, Bush Sr, Dole, and even McCain, who was born in 1936) or from the Baby Boomer generation (Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and George W. Bush).He’s a post-Boomer.
Most of the Boomers I know are still fixated on the 1960’s in one way or another — generally in how they think about social change, politics, and the government.
It’s very clear when interacting with Senator Obama that he’s totally focused on the world as it has existed since after the 1960’s — as am I, and as is practically everyone I know who’s younger than 50.
I think Andreessen hits the nail on the head for me with this point. I was born in 1966, and I’ve never been inspired by a presidential candidate until Barack came along. There’s a lot of baggage from the 60s, and Barack is free from that. His speech in Springfield brought tears to my eyes, and although I’m a cynic of the cult of personality, Barack also has the intelligence and credentials to be a great President.