Scott Kleeb counters the bowling alone argument.

Transcript:I hope so. I am optimistic. By nature I’m an optimistic person. And that, it’s part of that, you know, genetic quality that we carry in places like the Homestead state. I mean, we’re optimistic because we reach for horizon and we settled in a place where a few people settled and stayed. You know, that we, we’ve a term in ag country which we’ll just say, “Next year. It’s gotta be better next year. It’s gonna be better next year.” We’re next year country. So, yeah, I’m extremely optimistic that we can overcome this challenge, and I do think that it’s gonna take a new generation to solve them. I really do believe that the old debates of 20 years are not gonna be the same debates that we’re gonna have going for. That doesn’t mean to discredit them at all, but I think we are gonna have to have a new generation, step forward and say, look, I’m not what your parents think I am. I mean, I’m not what your grandparents think I am. That we have new challenges to face and we need new people to face those. And I think with the number of young people getting involved in politics in ways that they have never gotten involved before, we are gonna see a resurgence of...Republicans had it in 1980, I mean, Ronald Reagan was elected in large part because of young people. You look at the, “Family Ties,” you know, Fox’s character on “Family Ties.” He was a young Republican, you know, I mean, they really had at 1980s and that was a transform of election. Again not that, I have my big differences with them but then you go back to 1968, same thing, young people got involved and it was a new generation that these do happen and that new challenges are overcome. So I think that you look at the enthusiasm and a part of people that get involved not just in campaigns but in community organizations really refuting the idea of the bowling alone argument that Putnam came up. People are getting evolved. It’s not bowling leagues anymore but it is civic organizations of some kind. And that I do think there’s a rebirth there and that’s why I’m hopeful.

Recorded on: 8/13/08