Which Will Be Remembered And What Will We Get?

I've been doing a lot of political belly aching lately. Taking a candidate to task for politicizing a Christmas greeting yet scorning others for not having taken time from campaigning to do just that - extend us a holiday greeting. Suddenly new greetings were all over the place. Have you noticed how non-inclusive of other religions those greetings are? Aren't they running to be President of all the people, not just the Christians?

And speaking of Christian acts, how about the Clinton campaign launching two web sites just yesterday to attack Obama? With the campaigns getting more and more nasty, I wonder what the Iowa and New Hampshire voters will remember most. A lot of our trees won't even be at the recycling centers on January 3rd. So, will they be remembering the warm and fuzzy greetings or the attack ads that came along with them?

I also got to thinking about the wall to wall coverage of the two states as time counts down. I hear the talking heads quote this poll and that and which candidate is courting which demographic. What I've heard too little about is what the young of the country think. Mostly the faces talking at me are my generation or the generation of the show hosts - 40s and 50s.

I would really like to know what concerns the college students and newbies to the work force really worry about. Affordable education? Jobs? Job security? Health care? The cost of food, housing and energy? Do they look at national security and the war the same way I do?

Probably not. I don't know. And that's the point. Everything I write about is from my perspective. What is theirs? Sooner rather than later the names and faces that I'm so used to and am so tired of will be replaced by a younger cast with different priorities. What will those priorities be?

Are they going to get out and vote this go round or have they not yet developed an interest in worldly happenings that affect us all? Younger generations are maturing much faster than mine did. Does this mean their awareness level and concern for the future has also accelerated? Again, I really don't know.

I'll be watching January 3rd in Iowa with great interest. It will be a new year. Will it start out with hope and enthusiasm or more of the same old, tired rhetoric? I have an opinion and I'll leave it at that.