Everything Old

There's not much in Sean Wilentz's Newsweek essay, where he expresses some doubts, as a liberal, about Obama, that will change many minds. But there is one striking moment when he quotes from an Obama speech:

This year will not be a year of politics as usual. It can be a year of inspiration and hope, and it will be a year of concern, of quiet and sober reassessment of our nation's character and purpose. It has already been a year when voters have confounded the experts. And I guarantee you that it will be the year when we give the government of this country back to the people of this country. There is a new mood in America. We have been shaken by a tragic war abroad and by scandals and broken promises at home. Our people are searching for new voices and new ideas and new leaders.

Perhaps you've already guessed this is from Jimmy Carter's 1976 acceptance speech. Really it could be from any reformer's speech (reformer meaning the candidate from the party out of power) throughout our history. Obama gets amazingly strong support from the under-30 crowd who think he represents a new type of politics. If they had more perspective, would they still feel that way?