Choices Made…

Re(1): 'The Fourth Turning', William Strauss and Neil Howe

Senator McCain:

An Artist who got kicked in the teeth chose a GenX Reformer with a background of challenging the establishment while sending her child off to a Fourth Turning war. Governor Palin definitely defines the ‘Nomad’ in Strauss & Howe’s ‘The Fourth Turning’. She is an energetic leader who is unafraid to make the hard call needed to get the job done. She obviously is not a dutifull follower of entrenched 'experts'. So, let me mention some others in that Archetype:

• Francis Drake
• Nathaniel Bacon
• George Washington
• Ulysses S. Grant
• David Eisenhower
• David Petraeus

Yup, many of them are wartime leaders. Another example would be Harry Truman, eh… They are the leaders of men that decide the conflicts of their era. They are not necessarily the Prophets of Ideas – but, as you can see by the list, they are not devoid of game changing punch in that realm either.

If Governor Palin follows the Archetype her traits will be as follows:

Positive Reputation	Negative Reputation
Savvy	Unfeeling
Practical	Uncultured
Perceptive	Amoral

Senator Obama:

A Prophet who lives the life of a Nomad selected an Archetypical Artist from the previous saeculum. This is a generation that seems to get lost in the mix. Some behave like Prophets, others Nomads. This archetype comes to flower AFTER the Fourth Turning conflict and erects the foundations that stabilize the next four generations (United Nations, NATO, Warsaw Pact, Civil Rights Movement, etc.). Biden's archetype is this generations GenX children.

I think Biden, however, will simply get lost in this the crisis era. He has made NO mark yet – so why should he in the time remaining. He is too old, his values too conflicted, and his positives are too dreamy to be useful in a time of conflict. His negative traits overwhelm those positives in a Fourth Turning. To be fair I will document those traits as follows (and invite you to come to your own conclusions on his role in this Fourth Turning):

Positive Reputation	Negative Reputation
Caring	Sentimental
Open-Minded	Complicating
Expert	Indecisive

An interesting dynamic, eh. The patterns became clear while watching reruns of CSPAN and listening to replays of talk radio this weekend. Palin fits the era, Biden does not. McCain flows in and out but is tough and decisive, Obama sits dead center as a Prophet but is weak and indecisive and picks someone elses choice for Vice President.

Interesting times we live in, eh.