John McCain\'s age: No issue, until now

Tag : Pill Reminders

by Mark Silva
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The age of the seasoned Sen. John McCain hadnever been much of an issue in his campaign for president.
Now it may be.
The decision of the 72-year-old Arizona senator, who stands tobecome the oldest American elected to a first term as president, totap a 44-year-old running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, risksaccentuating questions of age and experience on the Republicanticket, political analysts say.
With voters already somewhat wary of electing older candidates,Palin's relative lack of experience and McCain's age could jointlyserve as reminders of mortality, with a first-term governor of asmall state first in line to the presidency if McCain wins.
McCain has long confronted question about his age withcharacteristic humor - "I am older than dirt,'' he likes to say. Hetalks about his 96-year-old mother. Most important, he hasprojected an undeniable image of vigor on the campaign trail.
But Palin's selection may have changed the equation.
"Palin raises the issue that (McCain) is quite an old man, and ifthere is a risk to his health and we've got a person who isultimately going to be seen as not qualified, it might just makehis age a bigger factor,'' said Andrew Kohut, president of the PewResearch Center. McCain "has taken away the argument that [Barack]Obama is unqualified and inexperienced," Kohut added. "Obama lookslike Churchill compared to Sarah Palin.''

Obama, the 47-year-old Democratic nominee, has of course faced theopposite problem: surveys consistently show that voters areconcerned about his relative youth and inexperience.
He appeared to assuage some of those concerns with his conventionaddress and his selection of long-serving Sen. Joseph Biden ofDelaware as his running mate, according to a USA Today Gallup Poll.Before Obama's nomination, 57 percent of those surveyed said theywere concerned about his experience; afterward, that had fallen to50 percent, still a high number.
Just as Obama sought out a seasoned hand in picking Biden, McCaininjected a shot of youth into his ticket by picking Palin. The riskis that Palin's inexperience could spotlight the issue of McCain'sage, instead of diminishing it.
John Geer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University,said Palin's selection has made the matter of McCain's ageunavoidable. "McCain's age was only going to become an issue ifsome event made it an issue or if he showed himself getting tiredon the campaign trail, which he hasn't," Geer said. "McCain, givenhis vigor, has handled the age issue as well as he can.
"Then he chooses this running mate,'' Geer added. If elected, "sheis one heartbeat away from the presidency, which is always true,but now we have a 72-year-old president."
The selections of Biden and Palin are still too new to be reflectedin reliable polling on their impact. But throughout the campaing,Obama and McCain have each shown strength among groups closest totheir own ages.
Younger voters are behind Obama in large numbers. Among theyoungest, ages 18-29, the Pew Research Center found that Obama isfavored over McCain by 58-34 percent. That that gap widened betweenJuly and August, even as the overall contest narrowed.
Among older voters, it's much closer, with McCain holding a lead ofthree to four percentage points among those older than 50. But itis this 50-and-up crowd that tends to vote in greatest numbers.
Obama's appeal to youth is not necessarily a result of McCainfailing to connect with younger voters, Kohut said. The biggerfactor is the inclination of younger Americans to vote Democratic,combined with Obama's particular appeal to that younger electorate."They are turned on by Obama,'' Kohut said.
As for elderly voters, Kohut noted, even they voice a certainreservation about voting for older candidates - "They know whatit's like to be old,'' he said. But for some, McCain's age, or atleast his deep experience, remains one of his strongest callingcards.
"In my opinion, it's an advantage,'' said Russ Weeks, the66-year-old Republican candidate for governor of West Virginia anda delegate to the Republican convention.
"With medicine today, people are living longer lives," said Weeks,a state senator who, like McCain, spent a substantial Navy careerin the Navy before entering politics. "With medicine today, peopleare living longer lives. I've outlived every male in my familybecause I take a little pill for blood pressure...And with age,comes wisdom.''
Certainly, politicians much older than McCain have served longcareers in Washington. The late Strom Thurmond of North Carolinawas 100 when he left the Senate. He was then the longest-servingsenator ever, with 49 years in office. His service record has sincebeen surpassed by Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, 90, who hasspent nearly 50 years in the Senate.
The late Ronald Reagan was 69 going on 70 when he won thepresidency in 1980. He was 77 when he retired.
Reagan's vice president, however, was a seasoned Washington hand,George H.W. Bush, who had served in Congress, run the CIA, servedas ambassador to China and headed the Republican NationalCommittee.