From what I've seen (admittedly not very much) on the Generation X usenet newsgroup that Machine Head showed us, for example, Generation X did not like Bill Clinton. Do you think that this was true among Gen X as a whole or just among those who happened to have access to the early internet in the 90's? If it is true that Gen X in general was not fond of Bill Clinton, I find it very surprising, considering:

a) The importance of Gen Y's support of Obama when he was elected in 2008 (Gen Y's eligible voters in 2008 were the the exact same age as those of Gen X in 1992)

b) The fact that I would have expected the young Generation X in 1992 to want a more youthful and laid-back-seeming candidate that they could relate to better than the older generations of politicians who had been dominant for years, just like Gen Y in 2008. Clinton, who was 46 in 1992, was in fact one year younger than Obama in 2008. Both Clinton and Obama were seen as charismatic, relatively hip and young candidates who were not overly entrenched in the Washington DC political culture.

So I guess I am wondering 1) how true was it that Gen X didn't like Clinton and 2) if so, why?

My dad was born in the '60s and he did not like Clinton.

Clinton's actual presidency was pretty similar to Bush 41/Reagan or Obama/Bush 43 when you get down to it. So people probably didn't like him mostly for the same reasons they didn't like other presidents. He was seen as pro war, two faced, and as being in cahoots with Wall Street and big money lobbyists by many young people.

I think it's true that his popularity was pretty mixed to negative amongst younger folks, although he was certainly more popular on the whole than either of our last two presidents have been.

I think the scandal with Him and Monica Lewinsky put me off about his presidency.

"I did not inhale"!

The fact that he was smiling said it all.

From what I've seen (admittedly not very much) on the Generation X usenet newsgroup that Machine Head showed us, for example, Generation X did not like Bill Clinton. Do you think that this was true among Gen X as a whole or just among those who happened to have access to the early internet in the 90's? If it is true that Gen X in general was not fond of Bill Clinton, I find it very surprising, considering:

a) The importance of Gen Y's support of Obama when he was elected in 2008 (Gen Y's eligible voters in 2008 were the the exact same age as those of Gen X in 1992)

b) The fact that I would have expected the young Generation X in 1992 to want a more youthful and laid-back-seeming candidate that they could relate to better than the older generations of politicians who had been dominant for years, just like Gen Y in 2008. Clinton, who was 46 in 1992, was in fact one year younger than Obama in 2008. Both Clinton and Obama were seen as charismatic, relatively hip and young candidates who were not overly entrenched in the Washington DC political culture.

So I guess I am wondering 1) how true was it that Gen X didn't like Clinton and 2) if so, why?


Good question! It would seem to me that the best way to answer it is with cold, hard data.

I checked Wikipedia, and, conveniently, it has a chart breaking down how various demographics voted in the 1992 election. The data shows that Clinton actually did fairly well with Gen X voters between ages 18 and 29, receiving 43% of the Xer vote to 34% for George H. W. Bush, but not nearly as good as Obama's 66% of Gen Y voters in 2008. To me, the biggest reason for the difference might be Ross Perot, who was very popular among younger, more independent voters. Perot got 22% of the Xer vote, and one could persume that a good portion of that would have otherwise gone to Clinton.

In 1996, Clinton got 53% of the Xer vote, as Perot's support dwindled down to just 10%, but Bob Dole still got 34%, which is fairly respectable given how popular Clinton was at that time. Just like with '92, though, if you take Perot off the ballot, and persume that most of his under 30 votes would have went to the Democrats, then Clinton's support with Xers is in-line with Obama's support among Yers.

Clinton's actual presidency was pretty similar to Bush 41/Reagan or Obama/Bush 43 when you get down to it. So people probably didn't like him mostly for the same reasons they didn't like other presidents. He was seen as pro war, two faced, and as being in cahoots with Wall Street and big money lobbyists by many young people.

I think it's true that his popularity was pretty mixed to negative amongst younger folks, although he was certainly more popular on the whole than either of our last two presidents have been.

But who isn't these days? No matter who there is to pick from it never ends good.


I think the scandal with Him and Monica Lewinsky put me off about his presidency.

He embarrassed himself with that.


From what I've seen (admittedly not very much) on the Generation X usenet newsgroup that Machine Head showed us, for example, Generation X did not like Bill Clinton. Do you think that this was true among Gen X as a whole or just among those who happened to have access to the early internet in the 90's? If it is true that Gen X in general was not fond of Bill Clinton, I find it very surprising, considering:

a) The importance of Gen Y's support of Obama when he was elected in 2008 (Gen Y's eligible voters in 2008 were the the exact same age as those of Gen X in 1992)

b) The fact that I would have expected the young Generation X in 1992 to want a more youthful and laid-back-seeming candidate that they could relate to better than the older generations of politicians who had been dominant for years, just like Gen Y in 2008. Clinton, who was 46 in 1992, was in fact one year younger than Obama in 2008. Both Clinton and Obama were seen as charismatic, relatively hip and young candidates who were not overly entrenched in the Washington DC political culture.

So I guess I am wondering 1) how true was it that Gen X didn't like Clinton and 2) if so, why?

40's is hardly youthful compared to 18-20 odd years. Their age doesn't mean they're someone to relate too, and they can say what they will.

40's is hardly youthful compared to 18-20 odd years. Their age doesn't mean they're someone to relate too, and they can say what they will.


That is true, but when you have to be at least 35 to be president (with no American president ever having been elected under 42), I think it is necessary to view youthfulness as relative.

That is true, but when you have to be at least 35 to be president (with no American president ever having been elected under 42), I think it is necessary to view youthfulness as relative.

35 isn't middle aged though. At the minimum most of them are in their mid 40's.

Good question! It would seem to me that the best way to answer it is with cold, hard data.

I checked Wikipedia, and, conveniently, it has a chart breaking down how various demographics voted in the 1992 election. The data shows that Clinton actually did fairly well with Gen X voters between ages 18 and 29, receiving 43% of the Xer vote to 34% for George H. W. Bush, but not nearly as good as Obama's 66% of Gen Y voters in 2008. To me, the biggest reason for the difference might be Ross Perot, who was very popular among younger, more independent voters. Perot got 22% of the Xer vote, and one could persume that a good portion of that would have otherwise gone to Clinton.

In 1996, Clinton got 53% of the Xer vote, as Perot's support dwindled down to just 10%, but Bob Dole still got 34%, which is fairly respectable given how popular Clinton was at that time. Just like with '92, though, if you take Perot off the ballot, and persume that most of his under 30 votes would have went to the Democrats, then Clinton's support with Xers is in-line with Obama's support among Yers.


Good analysis. I kind of figured that even if he wasn't that popular among Gen X, it seemed strange to me that they would have liked the Republican alternatives any better. It seems the saw him as the lesser of the two (well, in 1992 at least, three) evils.

"I did not inhale"!

The fact that he was smiling said it all.


That was a funny Clinton moment. I am still amused by the illogic of saying "I tried it" and "I didn't inhale" in the same sentence.

That was a funny Clinton moment. I am still amused by the illogic of saying "I tried it" and "I didn't inhale" in the same sentence.

So he just pretended?  ::) Yeah, how does that work?

"I did not inhale"!

The fact that he was smiling said it all.


He was such a liar. He knew that scandal would get him into trouble. ::)

Clinton's actual presidency was pretty similar to Bush 41/Reagan or Obama/Bush 43 when you get down to it. So people probably didn't like him mostly for the same reasons they didn't like other presidents. He was seen as pro war, two faced, and as being in cahoots with Wall Street and big money lobbyists by many young people.

I wonder if he did compromise on certain issues to get elected, and maybe Gen X felt like he wasn't liberal enough. He was pro-death penalty to a limited extent (though Dukakis' response in 1988 when Bernard Shaw asked him a DP question during the debate probably made it to where every future president couldn't reject it), and pushed Welfare reform.

But yeah, I think Bill in 1992 was about as revolutionary as Obama in 2008...both were young for presidents, hip and cool with some fresh new ideas. Having a Boomer who grew up with rock and roll and even appearing on Arsenio was a huge deal compared to the 1911 born Reagan.

I wonder if he did compromise on certain issues to get elected, and maybe Gen X felt like he wasn't liberal enough. He was pro-death penalty to a limited extent (though Dukakis' response in 1988 when Bernard Shaw asked him a DP question during the debate probably made it to where every future president couldn't reject it), and pushed Welfare reform.

But yeah, I think Bill in 1992 was about as revolutionary as Obama in 2008...both were young for presidents, hip and cool with some fresh new ideas. Having a Boomer who grew up with rock and roll and even appearing on Arsenio was a huge deal compared to the 1911 born Reagan.


Clinton was a very moderate Democrat. Pretty middle of the road and I can't think of many areas where he significantly differed from HW Bush, who was a moderate Republican.

I liked him, but that's because I'm not knowledgeable about politics.

All I remember was 'economic boom' and 'internet makes great economy'.

That was a funny Clinton moment. I am still amused by the illogic of saying "I tried it" and "I didn't inhale" in the same sentence.


So he just pretended?  ::) Yeah, how does that work?


It depends on what the meaning of "do" is.

Culture war politics weren't as important during the Clinton era as they were in 2008 when Obama was elected.  If not for the issue of gay marriage, its almost certain the 68% of Gen Y would have NOT voted for Obama.  In 1992 gay marriage wasn't even being talked about yet outside of far right-wing circles and certainly wasn't supported by a majority of Americans. 

When I think of Gen X, I think of low voter turnout and an apathy towards politics in general. 

Culture war politics weren't as important during the Clinton era as they were in 2008 when Obama was elected.  If not for the issue of gay marriage, its almost certain the 68% of Gen Y would have NOT voted for Obama.  In 1992 gay marriage wasn't even being talked about yet outside of far right-wing circles and certainly wasn't supported by a majority of Americans. 



Hell even marriage between whites and blacks was not supported by a majority of whites until right around 1992! It kind of brings home the fact that the Civil Rights movement was not really even history at that point -- the 60s were only 22-32 years ago during the Rodney King riots. It might seem tense now with Ferguson but compared to back then what's going on now is fairly placid, so far at least.

Hell even marriage between whites and blacks was not supported by a majority of whites until right around 1992! It kind of brings home the fact that the Civil Rights movement was not really even history at that point -- the 60s were only 22-32 years ago during the Rodney King riots. It might seem tense now with Ferguson but compared to back then what's going on now is fairly placid, so far at least.


That's very true. In fact, rather infamously, the state of Arizona was still refusing to recognize the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday at the state level well into the early '90s.

Their stubborness on the issue even cost the city of Phoenix the right to host a Super Bowl in 1993. ::)

That's very true. In fact, rather infamously, the state of Arizona was still refusing to recognize the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday at the state level well into the early '90s.

Their stubborness on the issue even cost the city of Phoenix the right to host a Super Bowl in 1993. ::)


Yeah, but it gave us this example of pre-ringtone-rap that was actually about something, so it's all good, right?

zrFOb_f7ubw
  - Public Enemy, By The Time I Get To Arizona, 1991.

(Posting for historical and pop-cultural reference, not an endorsement of their politics.  Being able to recognize every event/photograph re-created in the black-and-white shots in the video should be a core component of any high-school level course in US history post-1950.)