They Grow Up So Fast: Hail, Gen X

By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Sunday, November 26, 2006

Ever since Clinton took the White House in '92 , we've just assumed the baby boomers would hang on to power until it was pried from their cold grasp some decades hence. But all over Washington there's a sudden, spooky change in the wind: Some of the new bosses have birth certificates from the '70s or diplomas from the '90s, and names like "Kirsten," more nostalgia for Nirvana than Led Zep. Your moment has arrived, Generation X -- don't screw it up!

Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.)

Age:32

New grown-up job: chair of House Republican Conference (No. 3 in the GOP leadership).

Benchmarks: first elected to Congress in 2000 at age 26; was a college senior during the '94 Republican takeover.

He's SO young that. . . : He's still got a bit of baby fat on those cheeks, making him an easy target for towel-snapping House colleagues. Last year, Rep. Marion Berry (D-Ark.) called the redhead a " Howdy Doody- looking nimrod" during a budget debate.

Then again: He's a father of four.

Manny Acta

Age:37

New grown-up job: just named manager of the Washington Nationals.

Benchmarks: the youngest current manager in Major League Baseball; was born the year his Nats predecessor, Frank Robinson, played his 14th season in the majors.

He's SO young that. . . : He's fluent in surf-slacker dialect, explaining at his debut news conference in D.C. how he communicates with his younger players. "I can relate to them and talk about every subject out there, while at the same time telling them, 'Hey, you just cannot make the first out at third base, dude.' "

Then again: At an age when many guys are still planning Vegas bachelor parties, he's been married to the same woman for roughly two decades.

Rep.-elect Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)

Age:39

New grown-up job: representative of the 20th Congressional District in Upstate New York.

Benchmarks: the first-ever Kirsten elected to Congress!

She's SO young that. . . : Okay, so despite looking as dewy as a Tri-Delt president, she's not actually that young for Congress -- among House freshmen there are a half-dozen who are even younger. Yet that name, which came into vogue only in the late '60s, is a potent sign of the times. (Ditto for Congress's first Amy -- Democratic Sen.-elect Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.) By our estimate, we're now just a decade removed from a Brandon or Ashley on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a Brittany or Shane on the Supreme Court.

Adrian Fenty

Age:35

New grown-up job: mayor-elect of the nation's capital.

Benchmarks: born just months before Marion Barry won his first election (to D.C.'s school board); elected to the City Council at age 29.

He's SO young that. . . : He keeps his radio preset to hip-hop station WKYS 93.9; uses the word "awesome" even when talking to other big-city mayors.

Then again: Comfortably wears those classic old-man fedoras.

Cathy Lanier

Age:39

New grown-up job: nominated by Fenty to serve as the city's first permanent female police chief.

Benchmarks: started her police career in 1990; has already served as city's head of homeland security.

She's SO young that . . . : She can still get away with wearing her blond hair in a sporty ponytail.

SORRY, YOU'RE NOT ON THE LIST

One in an occasional series of dispatches from parties you should have crashed.

Guest of honor: Sen.-elect Jim Webb

Hosts: Friends from his Lake Barcroft neighborhood, near Falls Church.

Site: Peking Gourmet Inn (known as a favorite restaurant of President Bush 41)

In attendance: Webb's very pregnant wife, Hong Le; oldest daughter Amy; and 73 neighbors from the tight-knit community.

Minor controversy: Some wanted to hold Tuesday's party on the Barcroft beach; vetoed because of late-November temperatures.

How they pulled this off: Organizer Connie Lawn bypassed the new senator's handlers and simply knocked on his door and asked him.

Roots: Webb's parents rented a house in Lake Barcroft in the '60s; he bought his house in 1985.

Local pursuits: He fishes on the lake and tends his vegetable garden.

Good neighbor policy: Webb schmoozed for an hour, autographed books, posed for pictures and thanked everyone for supporting the local guy.

Overheard:"It's like 'Mr. Webb Goes to Washington.' "

New-reality check: The busy Senate freshman-to-be had to dash off before they served the house specialty, Peking duck, but left with a VIP bag of Chinese takeout.