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Keller @ Large: Poisonous Legacy Of 'Me' Generation Lives On

BOSTON (CBS) -- A couple of times a year the students over at Harvard's Institute of Politics work with professionals to produce one of the more interesting polls you'll see, a national survey of the political opinions of more than 3,000 18-to-29 year-olds – the so-called Millennial generation.

It's usually a source of optimism, and this latest one is no exception.

While Millennials have little use for the political process, they regularly engage in community service, and keep an open mind about most of the issues they face. For the most part they come across as moderate and thoughtful, more than you can say for their parents, the Baby Boomers, creators of one of the more dysfunctional political cultures in American history.

But there's one aspect of toxic Boomer politics that seems to have infiltrated Millennial consciousness.

The Harvard pollsters asked a series of questions that went like this: "If you agree with most every position of a presidential candidate – except their position on (blank) – would you still vote for them, consider someone else, or definitely vote against them?"

No matter what they put in the blank – use of military force abroad, tax policy, abortion, oversight of Wall Street – large majorities said that was a deal-breaker for them.

This is the classic conceit of the Boomers, that their political beliefs are sacrosanct, objects of near-religious fervor, and any deviation from them by a candidate is grounds for excommunication from the Church of Me.

No wonder candidates work so hard to say nothing, and pander to whoever's in front of them.

No wonder compromise in Washington is so elusive.

The poisonous legacy of the Me Generation, it seems, lives on.

Listen To Jon's Commentary: 

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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