But as I point out below, there is also a generational struggle in place here. I can't remember one as stark as this since the 60's, when people were coming to Bobby Kennedy in droves. This is a good thing. It's time for the young people to shed their apathy toward politics and become involved again, for their own good as well as ours. I really don't want someone old enough to be my father running the country, because they're too out of touch with the issues that are emerging in this election. The war is one that affects us all, but the BILL for the war impacts young people far more than it does me. The loss of prestige around the world affects young people more than it will me. Same for environmental issues.

I'm passionate about these issues too, but I'm not representative of all boomers, being somewhat liberal and disdainful of the establishment voters even after all these years.

In the generational struggle, what people forget is that they RAISED these kids. Their values are different, but they still raised them to form opinions, express them, and deal with the issues at hand. So when I hear snorts of disdain about Barack Obama or downticket progressive candidates and when they allow the discourse to sink into invective and personal attacks, I can't help but wonder what double standard they adopted to arrive at such behavior.

Welcome! I'm glad to have found you too. You speak truth about women — there is often a sense that they somehow need to put their younger sisters through a trial of fire, or give them at least a taste of their battles before they will welcome them to the fold. It's too bad.

There is also a generational struggle at hand. In my generation (coming of age in the 70's) there is a sense that we owe women some sort of payoff for the struggle. I certainly remember the unspoken bias toward women, but far more often I found that men were eager to mentor and push the motivated smart women up the ladder — as long as they got the credit.

In my case, I was okay with giving the credit as long as my goals were still met. Why did I care, especially when I knew that everyone knew who was doing the work and why.

Today, I'm a real advocate for women taking hold of their own careers and destiny through self-employment wherever possible, even if it means working on their own business while holding down their job. In the long run, I think the maximum empowerment comes to those women who do not rely upon anyone but themselves to advance, and then hopefully provide opportunities for other women to advance.

@Karoli – I just discovered this site and you on twitter and am so pleased to have found it.

First, women are the ones holding our gender back. We, as women, are intimidated and turned off by strong women. Recall back to earlier in the primary race when Hillary was constantly being forced to soften her demeanor (some might call it being more “lady like”).

More importantly, people are still, unfortunately, voting based on an individual's personality (likability) — or those of his/her family — rather than his/her abilities and stance on the issues. It's written between the lines of this post, and it's a problem we all need to start talking about more often. When it comes to choosing a President, having an opinion on a person is not a substitute for being educated on the issues.