Reply #5: I beg to differ

[hfojvt]

This pessimism and despair is just too much. I think all of our Presidential candidates are pretty good, except for Gravel. Even Biden would make a better President than many I have known in my life - Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Bush (born in 1962, I cannot remember the Kennedys, except for Robert, nor can I remember LBJ.)

'This country never held respect for the elderly.' That is doubtless true of our culture, but the elderly, through AARP, control the ballot box more than any other group. In fact, they are the demographic, TANJ it all, that gave us President Bush.

Also, in 1999 the poverty rate for children under 18 was 16.9%, for 18 to 24 year olds was 17.3%. For people 65 to 74 was 8.9% and for people over 75 was 10.7%. Not only that, but things have gotten progressively better for the elderly. Their poverty rate was 15.7% in 1980, 12.2% in 1990, 10.5% in 1995 and 9.7% in 1999. For children OTOH it was 17.9% in 1980, 19.9% in 1990, 20.2% in 1995 and 16.3% in 1999. This country has even less respect for its children.

Whoops, what happened to my optimism?