The Gainesville Sun endorses Barack Obama for President, the third Florida paper to do so

[FrenchieCat]

When he was still in the Illinois Legislature, Barack Obama once said that he was not opposed to war. "What I am opposed to is a dumb war."

Obama was an early critic of the invasion and occupation and he continues to advocate troop withdrawal. As president, he says, he would bring the troops home within 16 months.

The son of a Kenyan father and an American mother, Obama's multi-ethnic, multi-cultural life experiences would serve him well as he sets about trying to repair the damage that eight years of the Bush presidency has done to America's image abroad.

"I genuinely believe that our security and prosperity are going to depend on how we manage our continued integration into the rest of the world," he says.

As much as any candidate in either party, Obama has electrified audiences, engaged those who normally disdain politics and captured the imagination of younger Americans who need to be more engaged. The biracial candidate who rarely talks about race, he resonates the politics of hope and personifies the politics of change.

Obama would reverse Bush tax cuts aimed at the wealthy in favor of middle class breaks. He offers new tuition tax credits to help make college more affordable. He wants to expand Medicaid eligibility to cover more uninsured Americans and provide mandatory health care coverage for children.

Like McCain he favors a cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon emissions. He proposes spending $150 billion over a decade on alternative energy research, and wants to reduce oil consumption by at least 35 percent by 2030.

No fan of No Child Left Behind, Obama would put more funding into early childhood education. He wants to recruit a new generation of teachers, pay them better and offer them incentives to engage in continuing professional development. "When it comes to developing the high standards we need," he says, "it's time to stop working against our teachers and start working with them."

John McCain - the elder statesman of the baby boom generation. Barack Obama - leading the vanguard of the post baby-boomers who will inherit what their elders have wrought. What a campaign that would be.
http://mediacurry.info/2008/01/20/gainesville-sun-endorses-barack-obama/

[jbnow]

1. Nice but the generation part

sounds off.

McCain as "the elder statesman of the baby boom generation." Do they mean he is an older baby boomer or that he is older than the baby boomers?
Because he was born about a decade earlier. He's actually part of "The Silent Generation"

Barack Obama - "leading the vanguard of the post baby-boomers who will inherit what their
Do they mean he is leading the vanguard because he is a post baby boomer or that he's a younger baby boomer leading those that follow.

Because he is of course a baby boomer.

We have the baby boom battle right now and it's the opposite trends would suggest. They break off younger boomers sometime (which makes sense) that didn't face the draft, were too young for Woodstock or to be part of 60's culture and they call us Generation Jones.

In voting the baby boomers trend liberal. They voted Kerry in the swing states. Generation Jones made up for the rest of the generations that went Kerry when they went heavily for bush and gave him the states. Ugh! That's my peers. What happened to us?
If it held true Hillary should be the cool one.

That's wandering but the point is we don't want to call him Generation Jones she's a boomer. He just looks young. If he'd had a child at 21 that child would be 26.

So maybe for those who love to b*tch about boomers he is part of transcending that too. What did boomers ever do after the 60's? One became Barack. One became this Al Gore. Nice.

Speaking of McCain as another generation...we talk racism and sexism...McCain is old. Is it OK to notice? He'll be 72 as president. When he gave his 1st victory speech and flubbed it those who follow the campaign talked about how he doesn't do new talks well, stumbles even with notes and he's not good at impromptu.

If that shows up in debates and Obama keeps honing his style...the difference will be glaring. Obama will shine.

[FrenchieCat]

2. Kewl.....

But wasn't obama born right following the Baby Boom? Like isn't 1960 the cut off...and he was born like in 1961 or something? He only a few years younger than I am.

[jbnow]

3. He was born in 61 and the baby boom

generation is used for those born between 1946 to 1964.
The break off sometimes use for Generation Jones is 1954 to 1964.

[FunkyLeprechaun]

4. Rack 'em up Obama!

I think this is good for him in Florida. I'm just wondering about the Cuban Americans there, as they are more likely to vote Republican and Bill's reputation among them is pretty bad (re: Elian Gonzalez).

Who would they most likely vote for in the GE (hoping that they are disgusted enough with the GOP): Clinton or Obama? I'm just trying to think laterally and I think Obama would appeal most to those Cuban Americans than Clinton. I think if Clinton and McCain are the nominees they will vote for McCain.

We shall see.