Campaigning in Iowa, President Obama commented on the GOP convention by stating that the speakers in Tampa were "better suited for the last century more often than not… You might as well have watched it on a black-and-white TV."
Interesting; I remember when I purchased my first color TV set in 1968. The unemployment rate in 1968 was 3.6 percent.  Most wives did not work in 1968. It did not take two incomes to support a family and wives stayed home to raise the children. The US was energy independent in the 1960s and gasoline cost around 30 cents a gallon.
I still have a copy of my 1968 tax return (engineers are like that). The tax return consists of two pages filled out with a pencil. Compare that to my 2011 return which is 23 pages long and takes a sophisticated computer program to calculate the taxes due.
The 1960s, 70s and 80s saw the tax rate fall every decade. Beginning with John F. Kennedy and ending with Ronald Reagan, the maximum tax rate was cut in half during that time period. The economy hit a rough patch under President Carter when we experienced inflation of over 14 percent and long lines at the gas pumps. But after Carter was defeated in his bid for a second term, the economy soared.
So I have this to say about the speeches being better suited for the last century and that is; “bring it on!” I lived through the black and white TV age and it was good. Energy independence, 30 cent gasoline, 3.9 percent unemployment rate and wages high enough to support a family with one wage earner sounds good to me. 

Printed in the September 6. 2012 edition.