Just Another "McCain Moment"

Via Think Progress:

Last week Sen. John McCain repeatedly and falsely claimed that Iran was training al Qaeda in Iraq. Watch FOX News' Brit Hume defend McCain's blip as merely a "senior moment."

Ouch. If even McCain's most ardent boosters acknowledge his age is an issue, that doesn't bode well for McCain or the nation. A President McCain would turn 76 before the end of his first term, and 80 before the end of his second, making him the oldest man ever to be elected president of the United States, and potentially the oldest man ever to serve. I emphasize "potentially" because nearly three-quarters of our previous 43 presidents failed to see their 80th birthday.

And this certainly wasn't McCain's only "blip" on the campaign trail, where he has at times appeared angry, unstable, confused, out-of-touch, and well... just plain old. None of this is necessarily a sign of encroaching dementia or Alzheimers per se, but most of us who have watched our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents grow old understand that mental changes, if not actual decline is a familiar part of aging, and that such "McCain Moments" are not all that uncommon. My own mother is about McCain's age, and while I love her dearly, I wouldn't elect her president, and I sure as hell wouldn't want her finger on the button. (My 11-year-old daughter isn't too keen even about having her grandparents behind the wheel of a car.)

Anybody who remembers the Reagan administration must admit that there was a noticeable mental decline over his eight years in office... and Reagan was three years younger than McCain will be on election day. I'm just sayin'.

David Goldstein writes on WA state politics at HorsesAss.org

Comments

[stupidme]

10:55 AM on 03/24/2008

WHERE'S VICKI ????????????

[Stirner]

08:10 AM on 03/24/2008

Well, since the neoconned Republican "leadership" took it into their collective heads to ignore, scorn, and ridicule their only reasonable candidate, Ron Paul, and elevate war-hungry McCain (who comes pre-packaged with his pal Lieberman) they deserve to lose the election. I'm a registered Republican. I will be voting for Ron Paul and his delegates in the upcoming PA primary. Where the hell did they find McCain? A lobby-fed liberal, totally ignorant of economic policy, with a temper problem who courts Democrats and every war-fixated neocon he can find? Awk! A "senior moment"? Hardly, it's a McCain moment.

[Thorn]

05:32 AM on 03/24/2008

Ten comments and only ONE is showing up? Censoring must be your forte.

[wenton]

01:31 AM on 03/24/2008

i do find myself wondering at times whether mccain is all there

[PioneerKing]

01:26 AM on 03/24/2008

Quick word association:

McCain - Lieberman


Puppet - Puppet Master

[sarge]

12:00 AM on 03/24/2008

I was reminded of Nancy Reagan whispering the answer into the President's ear while he was at the podium, and confused.

But the repeated nature of McCain's "gaffe" (I call it confusion), made me think of Admiral Stockdale.

[PioneerKing]

11:38 PM on 03/23/2008

Back in January when Chuck Norris made a comment about Sen. McCain's age the media ripped him to shreds.
It was quite ironic that the pundits at CNN did not pursue the issue of age when Chuck Norris mentioned age since Sanjay Gupta had done a show on how presidents had age in office and the stress that the office places on presidents.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/02/hcsg.01.html

http://www.healthedia.com/sectors/directory/paging-drgupta/890226

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/studentnews/02/22/cnnce.first.patient/

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:7tD3VpqgBz4J:www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/studentnews/02/22/cnnce.first.patient/+President+Stress+Sanjay+Gupta&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us

[mounthoodliberal]

08:27 PM on 03/23/2008

Good post and a point that needs to be made consistently during this campaign. During this campaing season McCain has appeared mentally shaky...certainly his time has passed compared to his first run in 2000. On another note, with Hillary Clinton's claim she has the judgement and experience to lead on day 1, if her judgement is so good, how come she is consistently touting McCain's ability? Can't she see the decline many of us have clearly seen of McCain as of late? I think it's fine to acknowledge McCain's long experience in Congress and his military service, but that's where it ends...he is not up to the job, even if he has lapdog Lieberman constantly at his side to correct his many gaffs, that won't be enough. I can't imagine Lieberman there in bed with him at 3AM to help out in an emergency either....yuk...

[sociocanuck]

07:19 PM on 03/23/2008

Statistically more seniors join the Choir Invisible in the early hours of the morning (in their sleep). I would be worried that McCain's response to that hypothetical 3AM phone call would be sudden shock out of restfulness followed by immediate myocardial infarction (that's heart attack to the non-medical).

Maybe I'm being too morbid, though.

[desmirl]

05:37 PM on 03/23/2008

Why would ANYONE vote for someone who suffers from SENIOR MOMENTS. Thanks, Brit Hume, for putting things in the proper perspective.

[davedave]

02:55 PM on 03/23/2008

if he was forty years younger, his platform would be dangerous and regressive.

someone should gently explain that to mr. clinton....

d

[Thorn]

04:07 PM on 03/23/2008

How interesting that you feel MR. Clinton is the relevant party in this situation.

[nk007]

03:06 AM on 03/24/2008

Thorn,

Mr. Clinton and Mrs Clinton have been tripping over each other praising John McCain. May be McCain should have switched and became a Democrat. It seems that had he done so, the Clintons would have wholeheartedly supported him for the presidency. Certainly over Obama. I still think, if Obama is the Democratic party nominee, Bill and Hillary may well join Sen. Joe Liebmann in supporting McCain. We will see.