Posted on 01/04/2008 3:51:25 PM PST by unspun
Iowa Caucus Results Show that 'Spin' is Out, Authenticity is In, as Presidential Candidates Must Match the Generational Characteristics of the Youth Vote
NEW YORK, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The victories of Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama with a good showing for John McCain in Iowa demonstrate that spin is out and authenticity is in, as Presidential candidates address the most important voting block in the 2008 race: Generations X and Y.
"Some have overlooked what Iowans told us with certainty last night - a critical factor in this election is not race, religion, or gender, but speaking the language of Generation X, the language of authenticity and with the tone of optimism and hope of Generation Y," said Ann A. Fishman (www.annfishman.com), President of New Orleans-based Generational-Targeted Marketing Corp. and a commentator on generational trends in politics and culture.
She continued, "Generation X, born between 1961 and 1981, are a huge block of voters in this year's election, and a major key to victory. Although they are proud to be the first generation to consider themselves both color-blind and gender-neutral, they will not elect a President for those reasons alone, nor on the basis of party affiliation. Being practical-minded and averse to being 'sold' on spin or empty promises, they are looking for candidates who address them with authenticity and passion, and not as mere partisans - so far, Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama have connected with them on this level."
"GENERATION Y, born between 1982 and 2000 are the second key to the road to the White House. While Huckabee, Obama and McCain remained true to themselves, a trait necessary for the new-style politics of Gen X, the idealism and hope Obama and Huckabee displayed, perfectly match the optimism and civic-mindedness of Generation Y."
As exit and entrance polling made clear, Obama and Huckabee garnered a disproportionate share of Gen X voters and GEN Y voters in Iowa, to supplement the strength of the former among women, and the latter among Evangelical Christians.*
Based on Fishman's research into the habits and values of the working generations - Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y -, each generation brings a distinctive set of traits, habits and characteristics. These are important as keys to understanding political dynamics and voting patterns in elections.
Fishman concluded, "Understanding the changeover, now underway in American society, from the values of Baby Boomers to those of Generation X and generation Y is a key to understanding what moves contemporary voters and their attitudes. Candidates would do well to heed the call - as it seems, Huckabee and Obama have begun to do."
About Generations X, Y and the Baby Boomers Generation Xers are "latch-key kids," children of Baby Boomers whose divorce rates were high. Xers had to fend for themselves from an early age and are a generation of practical "survivors" whose attitudes are reflected in their politics, values and consumer preferences.
Baby Boomers are the 79 million Americans who were born between 1943 and 1960. Among other trends, they presided over the relaxation of societal standards in a variety of areas, including the liberalization of rules governing the traditional family, loosening strictures on corporate responsibility and the popularization of the drug culture.
Generation Y feels empowered. This generation was raised with the societal supports necessary for young children - strong families, strong religious upbringing and strong government programs for the disadvantaged. This is a generation that wants a voice in its future.
*"Polls of Iowa voters as they entered the caucuses showed that Obama outpolled Clinton among women, and benefited from a surge in first-time caucus-goers and young voters . . . In their victory speeches, Obama and Huckabee struck similar cords and distinguished themselves from their respective fields portraying themselves as unifiers and change agents who didn't view the world in simply Republican and Democratic hues."*
- Associated Press story, January 4, 2008 About Ann Fishman and Generational Targeted-Marketing More information on Ann Fishman's generational expertise can be found at www.annfishman.com/ . Fishman's company, Generational-Targeted Marketing Corp. (GTM), is a specialized marketing firm providing insight into consumer preferences, buying habits and trends affecting the American consumer. As GTM's president, Fishman has served as a consultant to numerous corporations, government agencies and non-profit organizations on generational issues and also serves as a member of the Adjunct Faculty at New York University. For further information on GTM, call 1-504-813-7890.
Contact: Michael Frenkel, MFC PR (212) 808-6556/michael@mfcpr.com
SOURCE Ann Fishman and Generational Targeted-Marketing
Michael Frenkel of MFC PR, +1-212-808-6556, or michael@mfcpr.com, for Ann Fishman and Generational Targeted-Marketing
And they had cell phones, 500 plus tv channels and IPOD!
I was born in 1980 (hence the 7-4-80), and I’ve seen the “XY Cusp” or “MTV Generation” used for those born between approximately 1975 and 1985.
Yeah but assuming your screen name is your birth year you would have been seven and that makes more sense.
Yep....the screen name has my DOB. You can check out my cooking videos on youtube and let me know if I look my age. LOL!
When Gen-Xers were growing up, cell phones were carried in briefcases, Cable only had 20 or so channels and there was no such thing as an IPod. get your timelines straight.
Social conservatives also carry the baggage of nanny ism. They tend to tell us what we can and cannot do, because it is morally correct. Not that a good base of morality set in the Christan tradition is bad but it’s not really the government’s place to dictate such things.
Dude! Do you have any idea what it's like to bust your butt just to get up early in the morning to stand in line to get the new X-Box!!?
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I would agree with that... My sister who was born in 1979 seems to have grown up on a completely different planet than I did (I was born in ‘72). I would hesitate before placing her in “my” generation... Anyone who doesn’t remember Reagan’s presidency I don’t think fits into Gen X, IMHO.
I am older than YOU!! lol
I think a lot of the break-down is along information technology lines. Early Gen X had network TV and record players. We had cable TV, VCRs, tapes and CDs. The internet was slow, limited, and the mostly the domain of computer junkies, cell phones were for mostly for businessmen. The next generation grew up with an improved internet that was more commonplace, DVDs, ect ,ect...
Iowa...is...not...leftist. Except for Iowa City of course. It’s populist, both on the Democrat and Republican side, and relatively conservative on both sides too.
X’ers grew up with Cell Phones, IPods and 500 channel Cable TV??? Hardly...
I’ve got plenty of vinyl and cassettes (no CDs till I was OUT of High School), cell phones were for rich wall-street types and were the size of bricks when they first came out when I was at least in Jr. High... Cable? I remember ON-TV that we got free for something like 2 years when they had to run the cable through our yard — still I KNOW there were less than 80 stations — once you got to the higher numbers it started duplicating channels...
I’m afraid your thinking regarding generation X is WAY off base...
My earliest election memory is of Reagan/Mondale. I was in the first grade and my elementary school had a mock election. Reagan won by a landslide (to be fair, it was an American school on a US military installation in Europe, so we were probably influenced by our parents...).
“Being practical-minded and averse to being ‘sold’ on spin or empty promises, they are looking for candidates who address them with authenticity and passion, and not as mere partisans - so far, Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama have connected with them on this level.”
That sure doesn’t give Gen X’ers a whole lot of credibility on the authenticity issue.
I’m apparently from that generation and when I was growing up we still had the phones on the wall that you had to dial and if someone pissed you off you could brain them with the receiver alone they were so heavy. Cable didn’t come til I was in junior high. I can vividly remember my dad buying a cordless phone when I was in early high school and it had an intercom on it. He stood at the base in the kitchen and had me go in the backyard with the handset. It was the coolest thing ever. LOL
I am older by 1 year! I remember the Reagan campaign
You may be forgetting that it is our generation, Gen Y, who is fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. I guarantee that our leaders 30 years from now are being shaped on the battlefield today.
Sorry but there were no cell phones when I was growing up. (born 1971) One of five kids and there was no coddling going on in my house. We never had cable until I was about ten and I got my first “walkman” when I was about 12. Oh, and we were never pampered, either.
The kids I grew up with weren’t overly spoiled. We were just normal, American kids who had a pretty decent life. We were not the children of the overindulgent boomers. We were the children of the boomers who lived decent lives and had kids at a normal age.
The next generation is full of kids who were born to those boomers who postponed “adulthood” so they could “live out their dreams”. These are the lazy, spoiled, overindulged, coddled, brats that I think you are thinking of. (my 2 cents)
He was and so what? Mitt being from the NE isn’t going to do it for him in NH either.
Now you are doing the spinning. The facts are still there.
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