A Republican strategist said something interesting and revealing on Friday, though it largely escaped attention in the howling gusts of punditry over Mitt Romney’s birth certificate crack and a potential convention-altering hurricane. The subject was a Ron Brownstein story outlining the demographic hit rates each party requires to win in November. To squeak out a majority, Mitt Romney probably needs to win at least 61 percent of the white vote — a figure exceeding what George H.W. Bush commanded over Michael Dukakis in 1988. The Republican strategist told Brownstein, “This is the last time anyone will try to do this” — “this” being a near total reliance on white votes to win a presidential election.

This is why it sucks to be Gen X. We just will never have the numbers to really crush younger people under our bootheels at the polls!

Younger people will look to GenX for leadership. Obama is the first of many.

For Romney to get 61% of the white vote means, he will need a campaign of fear.

To be serious for a minute... how could it be true that Romney is going to divide-and-conquer by pandering to old people while cutting all benefits for young people... and ALSO save money by voucherizing Medicare?

This quote from the NY Mag article suggests the former:

"On Medicare, Romney is putting himself forward as the candidate who will outspend Obama, at least when it comes to benefits for people 55 years old and up. Romney will restore the $700 billion in Medicare budget cuts imposed by Obama to its rightful owners — people who are currently old."

While the Republican party plank and Ryan's well-known plans suggest the latter:

"The first step is to move the two programs away from their current unsustainable defined-benefit entitlement model to a fiscally sound defined-contribution model."

I'm confused...

Romney is not going with that part of Ryan's plan. Both Ryan and Obama wanted to save that same amount of money. Romney is making is play to counter Obama's medicare attacks ads by saying, I am not changing anything for you for the next 20 years. Your kids will have the vouchers, etc. I will keep your medicare the same as it is now. No savings. No changes. No improvements. Nothing, just give me your vote.