John McCain will be 72 in August 08, as opposed to Ronald Reagan

[pnwmom]

who was 69 when he was elected President. Ronald Reagan was the oldest President ever elected and almost certainly developed Alzheimers during his Presidency.

Will John McCain's age be an issue during the campaign? Should it be?

For what it's worth, he looks awful these days. Maybe he won't even make it that far.

[Mojambo]

1. To quote Indiana Jones

"It's not the years, it's the mileage."

McCain will be an incredibly old 72.

It will (and should) be a huge factor.

[pnwmom]

5. When I imagine him running against

Obama . . . wow.

Could there be a sharper contrast? Between calmness, ease, and youthful energy -- vs. someone who gets whiter and more ghostly looking every day.

[Kahuna]

2. Put a fork in McVain. He's done! HIs advanced age is probably

just enough to give voters who still like him the excuse they need to not vote for him.

[LeftyMom]

3. Even if he were robust, the odds of surviving two terms aren't on his side at that age

And he looks like death warmed over in a dodgy microwave. I'd be a bit surprised to see him make it to '08 without a medical incident.

The presidency is hard on people. Clinton looked much more than 8 years older at his farewell than his inauguration. Bush looks a good fifteen years older and seriously ill.

Electing anybody that age is a very bad idea. Even if they were much more qualified and politically to my liking it would worry me a great deal.

[Tom Joad]

4. dole was 73 years old. dole got nearly 41% of the vote.

He never dropped that pen, either.

[pnwmom]

7. 41% means he didn't come very close. It's surprising his age wasn't

a bigger issue, though, since Reagan had announced his own Alzheimers. I guess most people then didn't realize (or acknowledge) that he had probably had it during his Presidency.

[Mojambo]

9. He did do some classic stage diving however. n/t

[smalll]

22. Yes, but I think Dole looked better in '96 than McCain does now.

Age has caught up with him. He used to be one of those charmed men in public life who seemed to escape (relatively) the physical ravages of age. Reagan was one of them. But McCain has suffered some serious health issues, and at this point, he doesn't look like a TV Senator's 72, he looks like the man on the street at 72. A real "old man."

[pnwmom]

25. He looks significantly older than my mother in law,

who is more than 20 years his senior.

[saltpoint]

6. McCain has kids with Cindy, doesn't he? Several of them? Plus the

one adopted child from Bangladesh -- a gesture I felt was sincere and admirable.

And he was imprisoned in a goddamned cage in SE Asia while a generation or so later a certain Connecticut-born pseudo-cowboy was snorting coke up his nose instead of reporting for guard duty, and so I acknowledge McCain's considerable sacrifice and service to our country.

But his voting record is abominably right-wing. He's a bit of a kook, or if he is not a kook, he plays to the kook percentage in his constituency.

I just want nothing to do with him in the White House. I agree with the OP and with others here that lately he seems desperate and deluded. Supporting the surge in Iraq is way off target. I think his wiring is misfiring.

[pnwmom]

11. I think the word "desperate" is sadly accurate.

He used to be an independent, but it seems now he will do anything to win, including sucking up to the Bushes as much as possible. Whatever he had before that made him different seems to be gone now. I wouldn't trust him with the Presidency.

[saltpoint]

12. Agreed. I hope his health is ok, what with his large family and

many friends.

He looked fresh and zippy in New Hampshire in 2000, and when he crushed Dubya there I thought he might be on his way to the White House. Al Gore whipped my guy, Bill Bradley, that year the same night. It had all the makings of a classic campaign.

Then Dubya smeared McCain in South Carolina, and as you say, there's been the sucking up to the Bush agenda ever since, and especially since 9/11.

If he doesn't fare very well in Iowa, his momentum for New Hampshire in 08 will be lessened. Not killed maybe, but slowed.

It could be his last contest.

[pnwmom]

15. Even his children are older now.

I just checked Wikipedia. His second set are all adults now, except for the adopted daughter. (Her age isn't given.)

[saltpoint]

16. Ah. Thanks for the info, pnwmom. Then it's more urgent than

ever that he head on back to Arizona and get ready to spend time with his grandchildren. They'll likely be along any time now.

And I don't want him running the show from the Oval Office!

[pnwmom]

18. Oh, I think it may be fine for him to run.

Because I can't imagine him beating one of our candidates, frankly.

But if I thought he could, I'd be terrified. I just can't take 8 more years of what we've been having.

[saltpoint]

19. That's just it. We've been on a kind of chain gang for 6-8 years,

and we need a break.

Listening to Dubya's press conference this week reminds me that other nations listen to him also, and no wonder they hate our guts. Bush is such a cretinous monkey. I have no quarrel with people of other nations, including Iraq and Iran, and I don't like my president pretending that it's in my best interests to pick bloody fights with those countries.

I think you are absolutely right about our chances against McCain in 08. We whip him like a rented mule.

[pnwmom]

24. One of the many things that appeals to me about Obama

is that I think we would once again have a President that the rest of the world could relate to.

His Presidency could be a sign that we are determined to make a change.

[Hekate]

13. Agreed, Old Crusoe.McC sacrificed a lot for his country & is a good man in his way...

...but I dislike his catering to the right wing more and more. Between his age and his deliberatly steering hard right, I don't want him anywhere near the White House.

I wish him a healthy and comfortable retirement in the bosom of his family.

Hekate

[saltpoint]

14. Hekate. Hello to you. Nice to see you tonight on DU.

Yep. McCain needs to return to Arizona, string up the hammock, take a long pull on a cold beer, and sit it out from now on.

He deserves to enjoy his children and grandchildren, and we deserve to have someone a whole lot better in the White House.

Good wishes to you.

[Hekate]

17. Hello back atcha. Nice to see you too.

:hi:

Hekate

[snowbear]

8. Obama = briefs... Richardson = boxers... McCain = Depends disposables

Or at least that's what I heard..

[pnwmom]

10. LOL!!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Nite Owl]

20. That's gotta become

a classic!

[Mz Pip]

27. Snap!

:rofl: Got that right!(And he'll need them for more than driving cross country to knock off a rival...)

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Nite Owl]

21. It's more than his age

its his health and his temperament. There are 72yr olds out there that could do the job but not him.

[calimary]

23. And he's looking every minute of it. He looks really bad. He looks

and acts like his spark plugs are starting to misfire. But then again, ANYONE who thinks bush's surge is worth supporting, especially when he's a combat veteran and POW, and is in a position to know better, has spark plugs that are misfiring. No matter how old they are.

On edit - OMG - somebody gave me another heart! WHOEVER you are, MANY MANY HUGS to ya! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Made my day (and evening)!

:hug: :hi: :toast: :yourock: :headbang:

[fuzzyball]

26. No one over 70 should be in a position of power in the government

And I am fully aware that people age differently based
on lifestyle issues. But a president' job is very stressful.
I have serious doubts if Reagan could have withstood rigors
of running a war or a serious event such as 911.

Even the SCOTUS should have a age limit. It is ridiculous to
have a 90 year old judge, who has forgotten 90% of law to be
sitting in judgement.

McCain is too old to qualify as a president. And I have great
respect for his service to the country. Not many people could
have endured being tortured in a North Viet-Namese gulag.
Like many have opined here, he won't make it through the primaries.

[cobaindrain]

28. McCain in worse shape physically, slightly better shape mentally

72 is still too old for a first term, especially somebody like McCain who seems like he has trouble lifting his arms over his head. I'm shocked he's lasted this long really.