The Democrats’ ‘way forward’ has a distinct Clinton-era feel
CHICAGO — Former President Clinton had trouble recalling the year of his first Democratic convention — either 1972 or 1976 — but wondered how many more he’d be around for. “All these young leaders coming up after me,” he said in a wistful prime-time address Wednesday night. “They look better. They sound better. And they’ll be exciting.” This week’s Democratic National Convention was about generational change for a party whose leaders are in their 70s and 80s, including an 81-year-old president who was nudged out of the race last month by an 84-year-old former House speaker. The Beyoncé music, the coconut social media influencer booths and the roster of new convention speakers all contributed to the fresh, upbeat tone. But in other ways, it felt like a return to the Clinton era — with big and bold ideas for structural change that have energized the party in recent years replaced by incremental appeals to middle-class anxiety. There was no Green New Deal, no Medicare for All or comprehensive vision for immigration reform that have motivated Democrats in recent years. Calls to expand or restructure the Supreme