Thoughts on ageism and McCain

I think we should be careful about criticizing McCain for being an old guy. The temptation is strong, because he is so obviously much more "old" than Obama--not just in years but in attitude and outlook. And I admit I've chuckled at many of the "Get off my lawn!" posts.

But I think we risk turning off older voters every time we portray his weaknesses as being primarily age-related.

There are plenty of things to criticize about McCain without resorting to cheap shots about his age.

In the kind of enlightened society most of us would like to build, being old would be something to be appreciated, as it is in so many other cultures.

Don't get me wrong -- I don't respect McCain just because he's a senior citizen. In fact, I don't respect him at all. Even his "war hero" status is highly questionable, based on what I've read. (Although that's off limits for the Obama campaign.)

You don't have to be old to be regressive, and you don't have to be young to be progressive. I disrespect McCain not because he is old, but because he is backward. He represents everything regressive.

That should be our focus, not his age. Age didn't keep Ronald Reagan from getting elected (unfortunately), and age alone won't keep McCain from getting elected. Let's fight him on his real weaknesses.

:rofl:

:rofl:

:rofl:

but there it was ... :headbang: :rofl:

But not McCain.

Good luck convincing those who enjoy taking cheap shots.

Went to see the new Indiana Jones flick the other day and as I watched Harrison Ford it occurred to me that he is only SIX years younger than John McCain.

I wonder if the folks who like attacking McCain because of his age also refuse to watch the film because Harrison Ford is - like - old, man!

*shaking head*

McCain seems to be losing it more quickly than anyone expected. Whether or not it's polite to point that out, it's kind of important for Americans to be aware of that. Although, they no doubt will be, whether we like it or not.

The fucker's fair game.

.... this is politics. I'm not going to succumb to PC thinking on this.

McCain's positions are like those of a pre-demential moron. Whether it's his age or just a genetic predisposition to idiocy, I don't care, the net effect is the same.

But politically, it's more effective to blame it on his age since that implies that it could get worse fast, and it could.

The fact that he rolls over for everyone and anyone should be used at EVERY opportunity.

Remember how much mileage the GOP got out of "Flip-flopper"?

I see him imploding on self-destruct. He comes off as an asshole in his manner & his views suck. The more that he is in the public view, the more that will become obvious.

He is a rich motherlode of negatives. We need to exploit all his weaknesses.

and it seems to me that McCain is showing the early signs of dementia.

Your post is spot on with respect to age.

The issue that I see (having been a primary caregiver) is mental state- and even that will have to be handled somewhat tactfully.

who have carred for loved ones suffering from dementia who insist that McCain is showing the early signs of it.

of subtleties that are easily overlooked.

It's not just memory and acuity, but speech patterns and other non-verbals that can be most telling.

For instance, McCain's speech last night evinced what we used to call "lazy talk," that tends to worsen as the evening goes on. A slight slur that becomes more pronounced on certain words.

Watch for it.

McCain is showing the early signs of dementia.

Even if I didn't have a front-row seat to Alzheimer's, his behavior reminds me too much of Reagan's. It IS a legitimate campaign issue. He hasn't held up so far--what happens now that it's time to go head-to-head against a "real" opponent?

:headbang:
rocknation

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/06/mccain-and-age.html?loc=interstitialskip

Seems that senior citizens, who know first-hand about the aging process, are concerned about this issue.

And I think it's reasonable to call into question whether a person in poor health is best-suited to the office of the president.

A poster earlier in this thread mentioned Harrison Ford, just a few years younger than McCain, and it's an interesting comparison, when you're looking at age as the issue. But the difference, of course, is twofold:

1) Ford is not running for president.
2) Ford is in excellent health.

Again, the issue is health, not age.

I doubt making fun of him will change that.

And meanwhile, are we supposed to sit on our hands while they ridicule Obama's youth?

Sorry if I offend any old people, but I'm just going to say what I think....

The youth are the future of our country. I know a lot of senior citizens are suffering, but their best hope is an optimistic energetic youth population to take care of them. I don't think they need a role model as President the way young people do.

Regarding the baby boomers who aren't suffering, can they stop thinking about themselves for once? Can they make some effort to hand things over to the younger generation? I know most old people are suffering, but a lot just take and take and are never satisfied. That's the way I see old people who vote for McCain based on age. There is no way to win these people over and they deserve to be poked fun at.

Not sure if that's what you meant, but baby boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964.

And yes, the youth are the future of our country. One of the great things about this election cycle is the huge number of young voters who will get a chance to cast their ballot for the first time.

Ya know it's going to be some right-wing Christian wacko. McCain is there best shot at shoehorning another End-timer nut-bag into office. It's the only reason his campaign didn't fold. He's a beat to hell old faux "maverick" and someone is gonna try to ride him into office.

Starting 11/5/2008.

...by how he behaves.

He still believes he has hair, can joke with the kids and get away with dressing like a boy 50-60 years younger than he actually is.

Hell, look at his wife.

McCain's problem isn't his age, it's his discomfort with his age; he cannot accept that he is 71 years old.

But, not in a good way.

He acts more like a very old man, who doesn't want to age gracefully.

He looks like a doddering old man. He acts like a senile, doddering old man (with anger management issues to boot). His health is poor like a doddering old man. I think this will stick in the voters' minds as a serious problem. Reagan came across as vibrant in 1980. McCain does not. He's Dole all over again.

like his hawkishness and his lousy GOP type approach to economy and the weakness of his claims to the mantle of environmentalism

I have a hard time believing that five years of torture doesn't make you a little crazy and enraged.

They know what it's like to get old, how their minds don't react the same way that they did when they were younger, how their energy levels aren't the same.

It's true that I'm talking about McCain's health, but declining health is a usually ramification of advancing age. People's health and mental faculties don't usually improve after the age of 70. That's why most companies have a mandatory retirement age. His health and mental capabilities are a function of his age and they're only going to get worse.

To say that it's not McCain's age, but his health is like saying that McCain would make a wonderful president, except for his views on Iraq, the economy, health care, etc., etc.

McShame besides the fact as a tortured POW he does not consider waterboarding torture, he wants to keep the troops in Iraq and the "free gas tax summer" that would keep road workers unemployed and our infrastructure crumbling. I could go on but rambling and repeating my posts is a sign of aging!

But, we still haven't beaten this battle against age. We haven't discovered the fountain of youth.

When I'm in my 70s I can only hope to be running strong like McCain. But, I promise I will do ONLY what I'm capable of doing, and not experiment with the lives of millions of people. That would be kind of selfish, really.

I was just thinking today about how Republicans act as though they have time machines. There was an SNL skit about it once regarding Bush Sr. And Bush Jr thinks that he'll be judged favorably after 'time'. Plus Repukes think that problems like retirement and healthcare will be worked out eventually, over 'time' but offer no immediate solutions. Obama knows this, and mentioned that we can't sit around wand wait for solutions. In our imperfect world, time does matter. Wish it were otherwise, but it's not, at least not now.

strength speak for themselves.

Obama's energy and charisma will carry themselves - no need to even mention that McSame does not have these qualities - it will be obvious to the voter.

Sorry I couldn't resist... that's a really odd approach.

This is the Web, where people say what they think. We can't expect people to repress their thoughts in here.

(I just do that to myself.)

There's no pretending that he is Johnny spry foot either.

I know folks older than him who have much greater mental acuity.

And I have to say, that is a hilarious image!! When are you coming out with a book?

you can to destroy your opponent.

especially on this one. McCain is toast anyhow. No need to poke fun at age. God, he just looks so bad on TV.

alone about it.

I get it, your horse is very high and very mighty.

You don't need to point out that McCain is decrepit. That takes care of itself.

My point is that we'd better have some other arrows in our quill if we want to beat him.

I thought one of GW's handlers should help him out on the smirk. It took some time but even GW lost the smirk.

God lord, I dont even want to get into an issues debate with McCain. What part of lose does McCain not understand? Bombing Iran, Privatizing unemployment and medicare, etc. Knocking out McCain is like shooting fish in a barrel.

I believe that we can take the high road. I work on the Obama campaign and I dont need to do anything nasty to get my point across.

The Obama campaign's strategy and tactics have been brilliant so far, so I would expect that to continue.
:hi:

that Lautenberg won his primary and he's 81 yo! When I heard that, all I coult think was "WOW! He';s 10 years older than McNuts, but so much sharper!" It's NOT the age in years, but aged behavior!

And I don't think he is all that healthy. Yes age can be a deterent in that circumstance.My husband is a very young 74, in fact at this moment he is SCUBA diving in Little Cayman with a group of friends for a week! Can you picture McNumb doing that?