Dictionary of new words

GENERATION O

Generation O: translation

n.
The generation of people approximately 18 to 35 years old who voted for or supported Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
Example Citations:
Generation Ois that college kid at the White House gate early Wednesday morning, lifting his shirt to reveal 'Obama' painted in red on his chest.
Or that stylized Obama T-shirt that makes irony look old, the 'Obama Girl' on YouTube, or the thousands of notes on Barack Obama's Facebook page: 'U are the best!!!' 'yeah, buddy.'
And, of course,Generation Ois the president-elect himself. ...
These young voters and those slightly older, who together may forever be known asGeneration O, were the ground troops of the campaign.
—Damien Cave, "Generation OGets Its Hopes Up: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/fashion/09boomers.html,"The New York Times, November 9, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama has been very judicious thus far about mobilizing the vast coterie of supporters from his campaign. Generation "O," for Obama, is ready to do its part in putting the country on a more hopeful path.
The question is what Obama should ask of his supporters. Washington already expects 4 million people on the Mall for Obama's inauguration, but what will he say to activate his supporters?
As a dreary Thanksgiving comes and goes, one answer is to mobilizeGeneration Oto help the nation's struggling nonprofit sector. Unlike the automobile industry, whose representatives were ferried to Washington on private jets, the nonprofit industry has yet to show up at all.
—Paul C.Light, " Obama Must Mobilize Supporters to Help Nonprofits: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/27/AR2008112702108.html,"The Washington Post, November 28, 2008
Earliest Citation:
Generation O?
Salon's Shapiro writes, "the morning after Comet Obama
slashed across" the NH sky 12/10, Dems "were still trying to sort out exactly what had happened" and "long-memoried political reporters struggled to find a parallel."
—"Oh, Cruel, Cruel Hero, How You Mock Us,"The Hotline, December 12, 2006
Notes:
Many thanks to Laurie Mullikin for passing along this phrase.
Related Words:
Baracknophobia
birther
Generation 9-11
Generation D
Generation XL
Generation Y
Obamacon
Categories:
Demographics
Politics