Generational Waves

Couple small things.

First, I had time to look more closely at the Harvard IOP Poll. There was one more interesting finding that I didn't report on in my previous post:

• Young voters are extremely distrustful of the media, Congress, and the President. When it comes to institutions, Millenials place the most trust in the UN, the Supreme Court, and most of all, the military.

Combine that with the plurality of young voters (46%) who favor withdrawal from Iraq in the next year, and it seems that NeoCon foreign policy isn't going to fly with our generation for much longer. It also suggests that Millenials have less of a hard time than their parents (ironically) understanding that supporting the troops but not the war or the President aren't contradictions in terms.

Second, Josh sent me this great graphic illustrating generational political beliefs. It's pretty impressive seeing Generational shifts playout like this.

Typically, popular Presidents increase their party's lead among voters who come of age during their terms. In the case of Bush II (formerly "one of the most popular presidents"), it seems that Bush is so reviled among young people that he is actually working against his party and increasing the party identification lead that started under Clinton.

Mystery Pollster notes that these results are somewhat fleeting - people are bound to change their answers over time and/or depending on how the question is worded. Yet other studies show that we form our political opinions during our 20s. If that remains true, we may be witnessing the growth of the most democratically aligned generation in a century.

Click to view a larger image.