On November 4th, 2008, the United States elected Barack Obama to be the 44th President of the United States of America.
President-elect (PE) Obama's birthdate puts him in the "Boomer" generation (c. 1961), traditionally speaking. However, I would argue that he's more in the "cusp" between the "Boomers" and "Gen-X," and more experientially aligned with Generation X.
Several differences with previous Presidents include his familiarity with technology (or even reliance onn it), his comfort with racial and civil equality (especially considering his own bi-racial heritage), his desire to discuss differences and to promote dialog and diplomacy, and having attained higher levels of education. He's also a well-travelled man, both in foreign and domestic locales, and the child of divorced parents.
Even more imporantly, PE Obama is a huge fan of sports and is completely frustrated with the current state of NCAA Football and the BCS system.
Now, can he fix the mess we're in now, economically, socially, politically, globally, etc? It seems many of these problems were, in my opinion, were created by our own Gen-Xers, who have achieved higher ranks in corporate and political organizations. As mid-level managers, senior executives, product managers, investors, politicians, etc., Gen-Xers have had more and growing influence in the issues and decisions of our day. We've created a mess with our reliance on credit and consumerism, as well as being naive in the complex historical events that have shaped the political world order and environment. Can we "buck up" and fix it? Do we have the willpower and ability to sacrifice?
Time will tell...good luck President-elect Obama. We hope you can bring the pieces together.
