The choice facing Democratic voters

"THE torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage," declared President John F Kennedy, the youngest person ever elected to the office, in his inaugural address in the United States Capitol in Washington, DC on Jan 20, 1961.

President Kennedy was speaking on behalf of the then young generation of Americans, born in the first two decades of the 20th century, who came of age during the Great Depression and who went on to fight in World War II or contributed to the war effort on the home front and helped win it, becoming known as the Greatest Generation.

JFK and the next seven presidents of that same generation who followed him shared similar views and cultural norms, and helped shape post-World War II America and the rise of the United States as a global military and economic superpower, and eventually led the country into the victorious but peaceful con…