After a grueling primary season this year--for the Democrats, at least--it seems in retrospect that there was something inevitable in the pairing of John McCain and Barack Obama as the two contenders for the presidency in 2008. Two distinct generations, two unique backgrounds, two very different worldviews: white/black, old/young, right/left. McCain is a child of the thirties (born in Panama, August 29, 1936). He grew up in the middle of a hellish war in which his father and grandfather were both fighting. Obama is a child of the sixties (born in Hawaii, August 4, 1961, another decade yet to produce a president) and like McCain in the 1940s, though too young to call it his war, came of age in the middle of a hellish conflict. Judging from their published memoirs, the early education of both men came mainly from what they were taught at home. This article takes a look at the early education of the next U.S. president. (Contains 1 figure.)