Howard Dean is losing no time in the commitment department. On his election on Saturday as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, the former candidate for his party's presidential nomination swore that the Democrats were "the party for young Americans" and the "party for older Americans".

Wonderful promise. Nearly impossible to keep. The big domestic policy challenges tend to pit the two groups - or their lobbies - against each other. The battle between old and young slows the political process and, increasingly, the national economy.