McCain's Problem: Not Age, but Condition

Barack Obama versus John McCain. One of the first things that supporters of Obama ought to realize is that attacking, belittling or characterizing John McCain by emphasizing his age is a mistake. It is a mistake that may backfire and cost them a lot of votes with seniors in this country.

I don't know about you, but everywhere I look in our society, people over sixty-five are making profound contributions to their chosen fields. Architecture, writing, journalism, painting, education, corporate leadership, law, medicine. You name it. With the exception of actually performing in fields such as sports or ballet, for example, men and women that are John McCain's age are not only contributing, they are at the top of their game.

The problem with John McCain is not his age, it's his condition. McCain's true lack of the abundant energy required to function as president, even performing the job on the most basic level, is what must be questioned. Perhaps McCain could have served in the 1950s, back in a time when the job was significantly less complicated than it is today. However, the world has grown far more dangerous and complicated in the last decade. (I know this because the Bush administration has worked incredibly hard for eight years to convince me of this.) The world today requires that we have a president who has the mental and physical capability and stamina to face issues such as terrorism, global warming and the energy crisis we are currently steeped in, not to mention the link between all three.

John McCain had a relatively brief and less taxing battle for his party's nomination than Barack Obama did. He has had time to rest up. Get mentally fit. Study his notes and come out swinging once he had a clear target. And what have we witnessed thus far? What kind of shape will John McCain be in come September or October, after weeks of stress and pounding from his adversary, who seems right now to be indefatigable?

McCain's ideas are too old, not the Senator himself. McCain's view of this country, his view of the world, are too old. There may be a seventy-two year old Republican Senator/ war hero who has most or all of what it takes to lead this country out of these difficult times. John McCain is not that man.

Comments

[zann]

Brain cells, muscles cells, all cells age. It matters. Memory, energy, facial recognition all go downhill. The brain shrinks. The risks of cancer, heart disease, stroke, dementia and death are high.

Nobody is at the top of their game after 70, though plenty continue to play, as they should. Nobody should be counted out just because of age, especially if the stakes aren't too high.

After all, experience matters too- If you've become master of a craft, like painting or design, and can work when you feel most energetic, you'll do fine. But the president is on 24/7 emergency call, and must grasp new situations, technology and people quickly.

You can't use anecdotal evidence about lively old folk to prove that McCain's age won't degrade his ability as president. If McCain at 72 were to face McCain at 46, I wonder which contests 72 year old McCain would win. Shouldn't we have the best man possible as president? McCain at 46, with his passion to reform campaign finance and cut governement waste, his abilbity to cross the aisle and form new alliances might have been a little better, despite all his opportunistic missteps. But these days he seems too tired and a little too befuddled to keep other, unelected and unelectable people from pulling his strings.

I'd like to see an ad with a split picture, the younger McCain and the older McCain, denying his former self. Who would you rather vote for? But which one is running?

[jpsd]

How about Warren Buffett or Sumner Redstone? Both in their 80's and at the top of their game.

Give me experience over stamina every time...

[mcole]

yes yes all well and good, but what happens when they keel over?

remember reagan was also in his seventies while in office and he lost his mind, so to speak, or his memory IN OFFICE!
can you imagine that happening in this day and age?

there really should be an upper age limit, if for nothing else then for the sake of the person.

[appleknocker]

Great if one LEARNS from experience. McCain shows no evidence of this.

[anelder]

It's the game tht matters. Reagan napped, I nap, I'll bet Buffeet naps. Wisdom, that increases, sometimes. With many it ceases to progress past a certain time. Somewhat like that 50's hairdo and makepu we see on some lovely ladies.

[eruthp]

This was interesting to me. As a 71 year old white woman, I might have some perspective on Sen. McCain's age problem, or not. I don't believe in generalizing in any manor, but as Mr. Baldwin says, McCain seems to show us much about his condition.
What I really wonder about is this. Is the MSM so terribly afraid of the Right that this is the reason that they have accused Senator Obama of flip flopping even when he truly hasn't but still call Mr. McCain "the straight talker" when he has flip flopped, maybe 5 times just today.
As a 71 year old, I think my mind is fairly intact, but even so sometimes my memory, nor my energy, is not what I would like. I belive there is a season for everything.
I also believe that because of his years living with a very rich wife and being a Senator for so long has insulated him from the realities of life. I am sure if he had not been told he would not be aware of the price of a gallon of gas let alone a gallon of milk.
I also believe that his lack of seriousness about the sanctity of a middle Eastern life, anybodies life shows a side of him that makes him as a leader very scary, as in "Bomb Bomb Iran" and "maybe the cigarettes will kill the Iranians". There are some things that I prefer my President not to joke about.

[Xenopus]

There appears to be something wrong with Senator McCain. He seems to wake up in a new world everyday. The things he did or said yesterday are no longer relevant to him and he speaks as if nothing in his past has any bearing. I don't know if he isn't aging well as others, or if his prisoner of war days are now taking their toll, or if he never was too bright to begin with, but something appears to be really wrong with his cognitive functioning. Up to very recently I thought the guy was a serial liar, but now I think he really doesn't remember what he did or voted for in the past and the same for anything about Obama - he says things that can be checked in a minute or two that are just not factual. And he does this day in and day out.

[redwoodcitizen]

I just read your post, and I have not read many of the comments, but you are absolutely right, Alec, age is not the issue; there are plenty of people McCain's age and older that are extremely capable. Age is not the issue- it's the fact that he profoundly lacks that capability and that the press is giving him a free pass.

[gage]

"John McCain had a relatively brief and less taxing battle for his party's nomination than Barack Obama did. He has had time to rest up."

This is factually incorrect. At this time last year, his campaign ran out of money, and it looked as if his run was over. After desperately revamping and making a continuous scramble for money, he finally was able to get out ahead and win.

Also, he hasn't taken a break since he clinched the nomination on Mar. 4. He's been constantly dragging the nets for money, and traveling all over America and the world doing policy speeches and town halls.

Your post is based on a false premise. If you think he's been resting up, then you haven't been following the news.

[Indubio]

Baldwin's post is based on observation and since he offers opinion not fact he can hardly be factually incorrect on making a subjective statement. In my opinion, nothing McCain faced last year compared to the bruising fight between Obama and Clinton. The GOP nomination was a relative cakewalk even allowing for McCain's shortage of money. As for McCain's present performance: You really think McCain is behaving aggressively? Have you listened to McCain talk? The man sounds as if his brain has been sedated. He has memory lapses, and, slurs and stutters when he talks suggesting the campaign has taken already taken a toll. I recall Reagan in 1980 (aged 69) and how the man looked like in 1988. After ~1985, Reagan was president in name only and by 1988 he was a wraith. I have no idea who was running the show but it wasn't Reagan. Reagan looked/acted more aware and together in 1980 than McCain does today, and, I hardly think McCain will improve his performance with age; not with the stresses and pressures of the presidency weighing down his narrow shoulders. I'm 57 and while I don't like to admit it, anyone who thinks that age doesn't have an affect on mind and body is kidding themselves. This is not to suggest that seniors are lame or incapable only that it's foolish to think that they don't have physical and mental limitations compared to capable individuals 20 years their junior.

[gage]

It is factually incorrect that McCain has been resting up, as the most cursory glance at his schedule shows.

[dsdambo]

They said the same thing about FDR during the most stressful time in American history. This is not a valid argument.
They said the same thing about Ronald Reagan.
C'mon Alec......­this is pretty weak.

[veteran1964]

Reagan was a puppet of his advisors..­....He had a great team that supported him and the ideas came from his advisors, not him....Wel­llllllllll­llllllllll­llllllllll­llUhhhhhhh­hhhhhh...C­ommon language from him. He was an actor also and knew how to throw the chit. Iran Contra and all. He had Cheney, Kissinger, and others that have survived, but he was a total puppet...H­e didn't know a thing about politics except in CRAZY California­...And, that isn't politics..­...Its weirdsville.

[Janskats]

Hold on "Dude"..if you please! Hate to burst your bubble, but California is just a much larger version of most every other state in the union! We work, we go to school, we live our lives pretty much the same as you, you'll likely find! Did you have to put up with Bozo while he was ruining the then-greatest educational system in the U.S., running it into the ground with his budget cuts? Did you have to get two MORE jobs to get through college, once Ronnie imposed big tuition hikes on previously free-to-residents college system? Did you watch him close up the mental hospitals, causing that now-beloved and most sentimental tradition, where the incapacitated, with nowhere else to go, show up on the off-ramp with a sign in hand? Reagan was a fraud and a phony, and one of the worst governors the good state of California has ever seen! GOP revisionist history to the contrary, he had to practice somewhere, in order to become one or our worst presidents ("tear down that wall", my great aunt Bonnie's butt)!

[dsdambo]

Where will Obama's military and geopolitics policies come from.....h­is experience? His judgment? No....his advisers.
Going to Toastmasters and responding quick on your feet will not make one a good President. I'm not a big McCain fan....but for goodness sake can't we do better than Obama? This is a great great country, we can't give the "keys" to anyone who who just wants Change....­we all want change.
Heck..I'm older than Obama, have traveled the globe extensively, managed up to 300 folks at a time, worked and lived with officials from both Asia and Europe (Japan, Hong Kong, the U.K as well as Germany), retired from the military at age 42 (I'm 48 now), worked as a program manager for a 3-nation surveillance system...a­nd I'm not qualified to lead this country.
You gotta give me more than "judgment".

America..w­e need someone better than McCain or Obama. WE have 300 million people in this country for Gods sake. Why are we scraping the bottom of the barrel?
Doesn't anyone with the qualifications want to be President anymore????

[appleknocker]

"Reagan was a puppet of his advisors." Correct. And so is Bush and so will be McCain.

There is a term, "useful idiot", which formerly was applied to naive pawns of the Communists. But the American ruling class has for several decades now adopted the same tactic, if not the terminology. And it has worked. Whatever havoc the Reagan and Bush administrations have wreaked on the mass of Americans, our corporate masters have profited mightily. I'm confident that McCain will prove equally useful.

[ched]

Actually, dsdambo, you make Baldwin's point for him. By the end of FDR's third term and the entirety of his fourth, he was both mentally and physically addled (quite apart from his paralysis), and not up to the task of being president (witness his being manhandled by Stalin at Yalta). Likewise, Reagan was, literally, demented for a good portion of his second term (not that we heard a word about it until after he'd left office).

In each of those cases, at least the candidates were mentally sharp going in to their presidencies. McCain, by contrast, appears to have cognitive difficulties even now, before even being elected, let alone entering the most demanding job in the world.

[MariaHopeful]

I saw McCain as he squirmed and squinted over the viagra question and thought it was pathetic. I really don't know how anyone in good conscience could vote for McCain over Obama. Is McCain the face or person we want representing our country in this 21st century? The symbol of America? I really don't think so.

[dsdambo]

I'd squirm over that question too!
This isn't Europe...l­et's have some class when questioning an American Patriot, no matter who he is.
Geez.

[Kwaayesnama]

Get over the American patriot bull!
McCain got shot down and spent five years in a Vietnamese prison, so did many other good Americans. Do they all think we owe them to the highest office in the nation?
When John McCain wanted to reintroduce himself to the American people he went on an I was a dummy in school tour? Scary that a presidential candidate went around the country telling people that he was a poor student in High school, and fifth from the button of his class at the Naval Academy. He also admitted that he has a bad temper. Yep! This is the person that I want with his finger on the nuclear button!

[frustratedinohio]

If I knew nothing about this election and all I had were this post, oh really this whole website, for information, I would conclude that in this election one of the candidates had a huge lead over the other. That's not the case. Why is this a close race? How does McCain have such a substantial and unwavering percentage in the polls? Why isn't this over already?

[yhgtup]

This race is so close because Barack Obama is pretty new to the Washington scene, where John McCain has been around for a long time. (Not that he's gotten that much accomplished). Many of the smear attacks on Barack Obama have been successful -- many think he really is a Muslim. The primary run divided the Democratic party. Many Hillary supporters don't support Barack. The biased media does not report the negatives of John McCain, like they do Barack. With Barack being relatively new, voters form misguided opinions of Barack Obama. Last, but not least, Barack is a black man runnung for the highest office in the land, against a former POW war hero, who the media loves, in white America. Unfortunately, according to exit polls during the primaries, many whites said "race mattered" to them.

[Kwaayesnama]

Help me understand this.
John McCain has been in the senate for over 26 years.
Barack Hussein Obama is a black, first term senator with a funny Arabic name.
Hillary has all that experience and that great honorable AMERICAN name.
Then why the hell is McCain, the best that the Republican Party could do, not wiping this inexperienced black kids butt?
Maybe the American people are sick of politics as usual?

[dsdambo]

He's half -white if you don't mind.

[springsm]

Alec, if you have a direct link to Obama, tell him your thoughts. You have a point. But then get it out to the MSM somehow. They will protect and coddle McCain until he manages to get the election. It is bad enough to have to fear what bush will do with Iran. Any positive ideas that Obama gets is a plus.

[Donald Wolberg]

Mr. Baldwin correctly suggests that age is not an issue in a world whre we live active and creative lives far longer than previously. More imprtantly, age is valued in most parts of the world and brings with it the necessary substance of experience. Mr. Baldwin and too many Democrats fail to see that the selection of Mr. Obama over Ms Clinton was a serious error, although more and more are recognizing the difficulties in the candidate. Unlike Mr. McCain or Ms Clinton, Mr. Obama hs a very hollow record of superficiality over substance. Mr. Obama has scurried to the center, in reality just to the left of Mr. McCain, in order to minimize his past affiliations and lack of record. Wheteher this will be enough is unclear as the campaigns of both Mr. McCain or Mr. Obama have unfolded. It would do Mr. Obama well to select a centrist VP, with both a record and a reputation. Voters will see the McCain record of decades and in the privacy of the voting booth, substance will win.

[tess08]

McCain, substance, record of decades?
there certainly is a long dirty laundry list:
cheated on his crippled wife,
bigamist who obtained a marriage license with Cindi in AZ before his divorce was final,
called Songbird and Prince by his Vietnamese captors?
made numberous propaganda films for the Vietcong ( these all remain classified w/other vital information on MIAs which he played the key role in suppressing, even if it means families of MIAs will never discover or recover their loved ones)
absent on the vote for the GI bill,
pro-privatization of social security.
hmmmm, he's a real stand up guy, this McCain.

VOTE OBAMA this November!

[Kwaayesnama]

Well McCain had an Alzheimer’s moment the other day when he forgot his military voting record.
In September 2007: he voted against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments.
In May 2006, voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care facilities.
In April 2006, was one of only 13 Senators to vote against $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.
In March 2006, voted against increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.
John McCain in March 2004, once again voted for abusive tax loopholes over veterans when he voted against creating a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans' medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive tax loopholes. Jeez, McCain really loves those tax loopholes for corporations, since he voted for them over our veterans' needs.
John McCain in October 2003, voted to table an amendment by Senator Dodd that called for an additional $322,000,000 for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq and to reduce the amount provided for reconstruction in Iraq by $322,000,000.
McCain in April 2003, urged other Senate members to table a vote (which never passed) to provide more than $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, and tactical vests.

[wardropper]

That says it.

[soolen]

I agree that age, as in chronological age, isn't the problem. It's how one adapts to old age. I'm 61, and I know how hard it is to keep up with technology, specifically all things cyber.
But McCain has lost that race. He's completely out of touch with the modern world, whether the collapse of the economy or the downturn in the lives of working (and whining) Americans. Like George Bush the first, who didn't know about grocery scanners, McCain barely knows what a computer is, has never sent an email or used "the Internets.­"
Recently he sent, get this, a Telegram to my mother-in-law. Among the many hilarious paragraphs in the letter, there's this one. "Senator Obama and his wealthy liberal allies . . . are growing their mailing lists and phone banks, perfecting their technologies, developing their money-raising techniques -- from telephones to text-messaging to mail to the Internet to knocking on doors. STOP. And it is working. STOP."
Okay, so I added the STOPs. But the entire letter reads like a telegram, something which no one under the age of 50 has probably ever seen.
Admittedly, this is clearly a mailing targeted at older voters, who, like McCain, find the Internet foreign and frightening. And that's the problem. Not that he's courting the elderly voter, but that he thinks like one.
Oh yeah, one other thing. McCain's camp ought to work on their technologies. My mother-in-law has been dead for five years.

[anninroosevelt]

Thanks, Alec. I am 3 weeks younger than Senator McCain, deeply and actively involved in politics and organizational development, and I would like a fraction of the staff that even a senator has to wade through the work. There are many ways I am at the top of my game because I have more responsibility now than I did when I was an activist "rookie." I also have more experience and have figured out a lot more things, and the women's movement has given me opportunities that never existed for women in male-run organizations when I was a rookie. It's not McCain's age, but he sure doesn't come across as someone prepared to take on the world and master all the nuances of policy. Of course, we haven't had a president able to do that for most of the last 35 years, except for Clinton. Senator Obama should run circles around McCain in every area that is important for a president to master. Of course the outcome of the election might be decided by rigged voting machines, swift boaters, or a lazy press, in which case we will have another uninvolved chief of state who enjoys the fact that everyone is obsequious to him. Reminds me of the scene from The King and I -- yes your majesty ...

[SharonAustinTX]

When is the media going to start doing it's job. McCain gets a pass every day. If Obama or one of his surrogates made as many gaffes and misstatements, the media would be and is all over it.


This isn't just politics, it's downright disgraceful. The American people need to know who they're voting for. The media shows only an incredible bias in favor of McCain.

[ladyv]

When covering McCain gets the same kinds of ratings covering Obama gets. People are obsessed with news about Obama, so the MSM comes up with ways to cover him. Nobody cares about McCain, so they only notice him when Obama does.

[Highwind]

Bingo! Obama is a ratings bonanza for television so they will do any little old story on him, good or bad. Mostly bad, because they want to keep this horserace going. Imagine if they reported all of McCain gaffes and what not. Obama would be at least 12-15 points ahead. I mean look at the coverage the interview Michelle and Barack did with their daughters. It was a cute and completely innocent interview,but the media turned it into something negative when it wasn't. I think they are going to start changing their tune because people are complaining about it a lot now.

[BaltimoreSteve]

You are right....A­ge is a factor.
The press treats age as if it would be discriminatory should they bring it up.
McCain's age issues should be vetted. It is not taboo, and should not be treated as such.
I question his mental acuity. I question his physical health. I want to know more.

[Kwaayesnama]

I question his mental health. My father suffered from dementia and one of the symptoms was his repeating everything twice.

[Grunty1]

Is it acceptable to point out his approaching alzheimer's? Or at least give the choice between senility and being a complusive liar?

[arachne646]

His impulsive statements and quick-to-anger moments might be the results of a lifetime of head injuries, from his time as a POW, and sports, accidents, etc. Cumulative effects can catch up with you and affect your personality, memory, judgement, hand tremors.

[ankjack]

Someone has to. The media doesn't seem to care to address either possiblity, even when they have him dead to rights. Did you see him squirm when that LA TIMES reporter cornered him on his voting record, i.e. voting against requiring health insurance companies that cover viagra to also cover birth control (see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/25630618#25630618 - you'll laugh)? I guarantee you it wasn't something that's widespread knowledge