While watching Fox News yesterday, I was somewhat amused to hear that today’s voters believe that Obama vs. McCain is the most important American election of their lifetime. First, I’m not sure this is true. Second, it’s not clear whose lifetime we’re taking about (72-year-old McCain or 47-year-old Obama). Third, this belief is as old as elections themselves. I should have written about it two weeks ago,when Rudy Giuliani was making the same argument from the Republican angle–but I was too busy reprimanding America’s Mayor’s assertions regarding the state of Jerusalem. I think it’s time to go back to it now and make the case against “the most important election of our lifetime.”

For starters, consider these statements: in 1976, Gerald Ford, running against Jimmy Carter, declared “I think this election is one of the most vital in the history of America.” In 1984, Ronald Reagan said “This is the most important election in this nation in 50 years.” And in 1992, Bill Clinton–always the most important on every issue–concluded that the challenge he presented to President Bush was “the most important election in a generation.”

Were these election cycles THE most important ever? I doubt anyone will argue that they were. Such things are said before almost every election. Partially to whip up voters, partially because political leaders can hardly notice anything of importance beyond themselves, and partially from the hysterical apprehension with which the opposition approaches the prospect of yet another four years out of power (Gore Vidal, quite ridiculously, declared the 2006 election–a Congressional election, mind you–”the most important election in my lifetime.”)

Having said all that, I do not want to underestimate the importance of this election. It will definitely rank high on the scale of the “most exciting elections in America’s history” (that’s different than “important.”) Longest campaign, most money spent, first African-American, second woman, great primary battle, two party mavericks running, etc. Still: is this cycle more contentious than the one of 1968? Will it be closer than the ones of 1960 and 2000? Will it have the lasting power of 1980?

The only way to judge the relative importance of an election is in retrospect. No one can really predict if the differences between McCain and Obama will make this cycle more consequential than others, and in what ways. I think when people say “lifetime” what they really mean is “recently.” And yes–these are probably the most important elections since the end of the Cold War–or maybe since the mid eighties. Thus, it is the most important in the “lifetime” of the twenty-something generation.

But so were the 2004 elections, as John Kerry’s acceptance speech made clear:

My fellow Americans, this is the most important election of our lifetime. The stakes are high. We are a nation at war: a global war on terror against an enemy unlike we’ve ever known before. And here at home, wages are falling, health-care costs are rising, and our great middle class is shrinking.

Of course, Kerry made just one error, fairly common among politicians: 2004 was hardly the most important election of “our” lifetime, but it was definitely the most important in Kerry’s lifetime. President Bush made the exact same point while he was answering a question from Larry King. Is this the most important election ever, he was asked. Bush’s answer? “For me it is.”

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 12:16 PM and is filed under Contentions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.