FOREIGN POLICY: Your portal to global politics, economics and ideas
July 2008
“The World’s 10 Youngest Leaders”
If Barack Obama wins the U.S. presidential election in November at the age of 47, he will become one of the youngest Americans to assume the presidency.
But Barack would still be older than these guys. . .
Putin’s protege now running Russia is years younger than my kid sister?? Why didn’t I know that, I’ve gotta get out more! 
Here are kings, presidents, prime ministers and Ph.Ds. This New Generation of world leadership isn’t just younger but more colorful and complex — one is an Olympic weightlifting multi-medalist and another is openly living in sin with his girlfriend, and Jesse Jackson probably resents them all too, if he’s educated enough to notice any reality beyond our petty domestic power struggles.
On a related note, Dana at Principled Discovery has been reading about the history of education this summer, and today takes a hard look at the history of homeschooling and its “pioneers.” Shall we continue to worship the veterans as larger than life leaders, as they bide their time off-camera and snarl under their breath at us like Jesse Jackson?
Or shall we learn from this next generation of young leaders, how to change history by refusing to believe that the past is the future already?
[...] your ossification is nearly complete. Show some grace under fire and retire yourself, before the young, brainy and innovative leaders of the world yo-yo rings around you, making a mockery of America’s former youth culture leadership. . . [...]