Backward Step

___________________

A Case For …

A Two Generation Presidential Ticket

And Two Generation Leadership of our Nation’s Future

John Fraim

It’s been interesting (and disturbing) that almost all the media attention has been on those running for president with hardly any talk about a vice-president. Many say – at a year out – it is still too early to discuss this type of thing. But I can at least present a short case for two generation representation on the 2024 presidential ticket. 

One of the reasons I suggest this unusual pair is that it increasingly looks like to me that the next presidential election will involve pulling huge forces together to help unite the nation again under one philosophy that fits our time. This will not be one’s traditional political party but something new. A new alchemy that has truly created something new and needed. Not one person’s vision but the vision of two people operating at the highest level of American politics: the President and the Vice-President. 

A fantasy of mine but also a method of looking at large forces of demographics in operation today. Certainly, the two greatest generations controlling culture today are the baby boom generation and the millennial generations. Putting a president and vice-president from these two generations is a method not tried yet on our real pollical stage. 

But why not? 

And why not begin to package a presidential ticket right now – with this generational brand positioning? What are the two candidates that create the next coalition to win the presidency? This coalition is the necessary path to the presidency.

Who will be best at putting this coalition together?

Most of it will be brokered at the convention in the style of the past. The next president and vice-president must by clearly voted into office by a voting system rid of fraud. Another fantasy of mine but certainly something that needs first attention. The new combination of leadership between generations should have its message out far before the brokers of the parties get their hands on them. 

This means considering the best two-person ticket in America. Each of these two persons not representing one of the past demographics like race (Obama) gender (Biden). 

A strong brand needs to be built now long before the power mongers of the future political convention. A brand made from and sold about two people from the two key generations today. A coalition of generations between the president and vice-president.

A fantasy of mine is that the working together of generations is the most important element needed in culture on a very broad level. The Baby Boom generations working with the Millennial Generation. These are the key demographic dynamics of our times. These demographics are behind much of the way culture is today. The way people see the world. 

A new president from one of the generations needs to find a vice-president from another generation as a running mate. 

And now, begin communicating their message together, as a team. No one wanted to have another team member “grafted on you” at the presidential convention. By the party. The heck with the party. We do this now attitude is needed.

* * *

Not only two successful people from private industry but also from different generations. 

Looking at the symbolism and context of the next election in terms of huge factors never mentioned in analyzing the next election. Of course something that all of our tv priests lecture to us on each day. Media theorist Marshall McLuhan might have defined our current culture as one distracted from looking at the large context of life by the smaller messages of content we’re all bombarded by each day. 

Perhaps uniting generations in a new political dynamic at the polls?

Might the election of 2024 where this new political dynamic expresses itself? 

An election where the two great generations today – the baby boom and millennial generations – are able to put a “two generation” platform out as a possibility. A possibility of helping put a stop to the increasing diversity of the nation. I listened to Vivek’s book Woke, Inc. on audio (on the treadmill at the gym) and watched his appearances on TV (and more than a few fiery speeches) and read much of what he says. His understanding of the scope and roots of woke culture today is extraordinary. Especially in the business world and education. It is far greater than anyone else out there. 

I’ll toss out an obvious to me right now. Certainly, there are others one can come up with. This combination involves former president Donald Trump and Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy. Trump (born June 14, 1946) represents the oldest cohort or the Baby Boom generation and   Trump or the oldest cohort of the baby boom generation and Ramaswamy(born August 9, 1985) one of the youngest cohorts of the millennial generation. 

Right off the bat, you have an interesting demographic dynamic in the above. If there can be a true coming together of generations during a new administration, then all of this would certainly be greatly reinforced. In the world. Might this coming together of generations have global implications?

Since Obama became president, there has been the dynamic of race (Obama, Biden) and then gender (Biden, Harris). 

Might the next election be about a coalition of generations more than anything else? Might we truly need this working together – more than anything else – to move forward in the world out of the mess we are in right now. The working together suggested in the branding campaign. 

My fantasy, that the working together of these two generations in the next Whitehouse will lead to a new vision of America. 

Does a new path forward come from generational cooperation?

My thoughts about matching the two generations as key think in the subtext of the next presidential election. It is this mixing that the nation needs the most from a demographic perspective. Demographics run independent of the power of any person. But successful politicians simply combine demographic populaces together in best ways to form new coalitions for them they’re not aware of themselves. 

But coalitions that are out there, often hiding under the political landscape. But still out there. For example, there is a strong chance the demographics of those in Ohio who voted Yes on Issue One in the November election also voted Yes on Issue Two. Positive attitudes towards abortion and marijuana have a strong correlation in Ohio and also in the rest of the nation. They certainly form a pollical bond between them and can be included as targets out there for a pollical campaign. The two issues are interesting. The marijuana issue really is a big issue for the baby boom generation. And, the abortion issue, certainly a big issue for the millennial generation. 

Anyway, we’ll move into election season and then the new election. 

Interesting to see what happens. 

* * *

Will it happen the way I envision it to happen? That is, if fantasy and dreams have a chance of surviving in today’s world.

If not, something much different. 

But more than anything, it seemed to me important that the great symbols of the Baby Boom Generation and the Millennial Generation were running on one of the tickets. Perhaps also, the other parties’ ticket.

Again, a few thoughts. It’s my strong feeling that the Presidential Race in 2024 is about coalition-building more than anything else. The appeal of just the one running for president is not enough for the modern electorate. The question and subtextual answer to this is that America is really ready for more of a dual control pollical system which takes in and creates the view of the two great generations represented by the two generations symbols. 

The Baby Boom Generation, The Millennial Generation. The leadership of the nation at this point in time represented a coming together of the images and symbols from these two generations. It is something different to think about. Something not presented to our attention before. 

As I said, been reading a lot of Ray Dalio’s philosophy in then past few days. All of this spurred on by the publication of the new book The Fund. In effect, the image that Dalio has cultivated over the years is severely attacked in the new book. Did Dalio create a cult? The strange things that went on at Dalio’s company. The largest hedge fund in the world.

But the more I look at this whole thing, the more I marvel at Ray Dalio. I have never seen someone who wanted to educate a new generation to think for themselves in a more Ayn Rand way than Dalio suggests through his famous best seller Principles book. Five million in print. Or something like this. I have only read sections of Principles and it sees very Ayn Randist to me. The statement of her objectionist philosophy.

Dalio observes that all of this might be something we haven’t seen before. In our life experience. Yet – he says – not something that has not happened before in history. In another, particular cycle of history. It happened. This same thing we’re going through now. I’ve been reading a lot about Ray Dalio the past few days so my ideas influenced by Ray in some ways. Not a bad thing the more I get to know about him. But something to also watch out for.