Friday, February 29, 2008

What the Success of Young Politicians Tells Us about What Lies Ahead

The brightest star in the Democratic camp is Barack Obama. If all goes according to plan, the brightest star in the Republican Party, in three years, will be Bobby Jindal. Barack Obama, if elected, will not be the youngest president this country has had. Bill Clinton was younger than Barack Obama is now; so was John F. Kennedy. And, of course, the youngest president of all was Theodore Roosevelt. Bobby Jindal, if elected in five years, will be the youngest president in the history of the nation (now, he is almost a decade younger than Senator Obama.)

I don't like this trend.

Why should I not? Aren't I happy that a minority is going to be the next president of the United States? Yes, but not that particular man. Aren't I glad that the Republicans will very likely be running a non-white for the White House? Of course. The problem is that both of the men are young.

You can forget experience; Abraham Lincoln didn't have much experience in Washington before he was elected president. (He had served one term in the United States Congress.) What I am concerned about is that people are throwing themselves behind these people without really thinking. (If you don't know what I mean, check out Barack Obama's "Yes, We Can" video.) I don't like to think of myself as a apostle of declinism, but, if the nation's vote is controlled by inspiration rather than reason, we have some hard years ahead.

No comments: