I don't usually espouse my political views out loud, and while I would have voted for him 8 years ago (man, that seems like soooo long ago!), I think there is a very important question to ask before you check the box for John McCain:
If you are between the ages of 20 and 30, would you want your Great-Grandfather as President? You might not even have one, they're mostly dead by now...
If you're between 30 and 40, do you want to vote for your Grandfather? C'mon, you don't go visit him regularly, and if you do you, don't you roll your eyes a lot?
If you're 40-60, aren't you thinking of plans for taking care of Dad, looking into nice facilities with backgammon night and several varieties of jello, rather than installing him in the Oval Office?
If you're over 60 and still get to the voting booth, how many times did you lose your glasses or car keys this morning? How many times did you forget you were looking for your glasses or car keys? Would your wife trust (let alone vote for) you as the Leader of the Free World?
12 comments:
Thank God ageism didn't prevent Winston Churchill from rockin' the free world...
True, very true... let's see, as WWII started Churchill was 66 years old, same as McCain was... um... carry the 1...oh, 8 years ago!
11 years later, at age 77, Churchill had a second run as PM that was considerably less successful, and included a stroke and rapidly failing health...
Not to mention that was then, this is now and the world is over 60 years different...
I could not agree more!
I do not think it is ageism, I think it is common sense. This man has survived cancer, he has survived being a prisoner of war. I m pretty darned certain that being president after Bush might do him in.
I used to think he was a man of integrity and common sense. then he seemed to sort of absorb Bush's ideas by some weird party osmosis. I no longer trust him. I am pretty sure that ending our involvement in the war built on lies is not a priority for him.
Bush? Clinton?
Donald Duck?
hell if I know any more...
ps
I have no problem shouting out my political views.. lol
my blog is full of them...
You're absolutely right, JK, that most people over 70 are past their personal prime. I do maintain, though, that it's not ok to preemptorily toss anyone out of a
campaign just because he's old.
Michelangelo, Pope John Paul, Ben Franklin--even past their prime, they were better than the average bear. Heck, even today at 142,Bob Dole might be able to kick my ass
in Scrabble!
Now if you will excuse me, I have to go find my car keys....
I always love the ol' "throw an orange in the basket and we'll call them all apples" (at least that's how I think the saying goes...) -- Michaelangelo & McCain? Franklin & McCain? Scrabble and POTUS?
And yes, after a certain age # has been reached you DO toss a person out... of the DMV, the NFL, the CEO's office, and the Presidency, unless they fall in that very exceptional and sparsely populated catagory alongside Joe Paterno and President Dole...
Look again—I wasn’t attempting to defend or elevate The Oldest Candidate in the History of the United States of America. I was demonstrating that age shouldn’t be the rule by which we measure any man’s worth. (Well, the Founders DID put a lower cap on age for the president, though not an upper one…hmmm.) Your sole stated criteria for tossing TOCITHOTUSA is his b-day. Yet the DMV (check the rules yourself) and the NFL and Warren Buffet agree with me—-the individual’s ability is the limitation, not his age. It’s your blog, so you get the final say. I’ll be quiet now. ;-)
Signed,
Future Old Person Who Doesn’t Plan To Run For Office Because She’d Rather Be Playing Scrabble With Bob Dole
I wasn't claiming the number of birthdays he's had should disqualify him, it's what he's doing with them right now (and potentially in the next 4 years) that matters -- just as we look past the facade of a responsible, well-behaved, straight A 16-yr old and place heavy restrictions on his driving, we need to look at past the soundbites and glossy photos and recognize the statistics... to continue the metaphor, I don't want him stepping on the gas instead of the brake and plowing onto a crowd of people...
WARNING: LOOOOOONG POST!
JK, your original post doesn’t say anything at all about what McCain was doing with his age--you just recommend that we observe our own older folks as gauges for his irrelevance or incompetence. Trouble is, my grandpa was still mowing his lawn and fixing his own roof at 77. Voted every election before he died at 93. Loved Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and bridge. Danced weekly at the Senior Center, which he walked to for exercise. Never lost his car keys, although his kids did have to take them away at about age 87-reflexes, you know, not his mind or judgment. Uh,does the POTUS drive much?
Sometimes behind the façade of a responsible, well-behaved, straight A 16-yr old is a responsible, well-behaved person who is an even better driver than you and I imagine we are. We penalize this kid because of the (many)16 yr olds who can pass a test under heavy scrutiny, but as soon as those kids are on their own, the freeway becomes their personal Autobahn. Poor responsible kid...the insurance companies are protecting themselves, and your post was meant as a caution to protect ourselves, but amusing as it was, it assumed that all old people are nursing home bound. My responses have been to check that knee-jerk thinking (do knees think? are they jerks?). In my experience, old people have so much to offer; in my opinion, our impatient youth culture trashes them because they have ugly saggy skin, are slower in general and they remind us of our mortality. (Yes, some seniors are senile, but some young people die and some have no judgment:to wit., Ledger and Lohan.)
So is TOCITHOTUSA one of the (few?) responsible, well-behaved straight A kids, or one of the many others? Let’s see: is he missing points in his debates? dozing off inappropriately, a lá B.Clinton at
the Dr. MLK commemoration? drooling in the Jelly Bellies, a lá Reagan in his 2nd term? Is he, metaphorically speaking, mistaking the brakes for the gas? If so, that type of evidence would be more fair criticism than comparing him to a generic geriatric grandpa.
Or let’s examine the actuarial side of things, like insurance companies do. Genetics is bound to play a big factor in whether he could go 4 years. Well let’s see: his mommy is 95 and pretty spritely. (Sorry, don’t know about her braking reflexes.) Check her out:
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/McCains_mom_gives_GOP_some_straight_0125.html
Looks like Johnny has the proper genes to take him through four years at least. After four, we’d have to make him take the driving test in person again, check the dozing and Jelly Belly moisture level, and either have four more of TOPITHOTUSA or bury him, literally or metaphorically.
Certainly, let’s look past the soundbites and glossy photos. But I still think your comments imply that everyone past a certain age is less sharp than we spring chickens are...just as we thought we were sharper than our fortysomething parents when we were teens. Careful, you have a teenager and you are a future grandpa. How awful to be discarded or disregarded or discounted because of your age. (cue violins or Cat Stevens, your call)
I still don’t know who I’m voting for, but it won’t be about race, gender, good looks (oh yeah, Romney is out of it), saxophone playing ability, religion, wealth, OR age. Gotta vote my convictions and conscience:
http://www.issues2000.org/default.htm
It has been sooooo fun sparring with you--you are a good thinker and a fun writer, and I was always logging on to see if you had replied yet. I will still stop by to read you (what most bloggers long for, right? a dedicated readership?), but seriously, have the last word because I have too many papers to grade.
I think you lost this one philosophically, but no hard feelings, I hope. :-D
Signed,
She Who Likes the Pear Flavored Jelly Bellies Best and Drives a Tad Better Than You
PS. and no hard feelings if your last word clobbers
mine! Peace out--
No, my dearest Anonymous, you won. And not just because time expired on me... I was flippant, you were succinct and backed it up with logic and relevance...
metaphorically, you ran me over then backed up and finished me off, leaving me yakking on the Japanese PM...
not only that, but I'm depressed because you dropped the dreaded "grandpa" on me (but not as depressed as my teen, who is now grounded for the next 15 years as a precaution)...
but I still drive better than you...
How 'bout that Obama? Wow!
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