Is McCain really too old to be President?

[Jyet]

There's been a lot of talk this year about whether or not John McCain, who will be 71 when and if he's elected, is simply too old to be president. I don't think that's true. For one thing, since he's already made it to age 70, his remaining life expectancy is about ten to fifteen years. On top of that, Ronald Reagan was 69 when he took office, and whether you love him or hate him, you've got to admit he was an effective president. In the interest of full disclosure, I'll admit that I am somewhere between moderate and conservative, and that I support McCain.

So, thoughts?

[PorkChopExpress86]

Not at all. A big complaint about Bob Dole was that he was too old for the job, yet he's still kicking 12 years later. He seemed pretty spry all those times he was on the Daily Show. The office of the president does put considerable strain on someone but I think if McCain survived the Hanoi Hilton, he'll do fine in the Oval Office.

[shinigamiinochi]

I say no because of my cousin's husband's grandmother. The woman is 101 and she takes two hour long hikes, drives for hours to see her grandsons, and generally acts like a fifty year old. My now deceased grandmother however died at 85 and acted like my cousin's granny in law could be acting at that age. I don't really like McCain, but I don't think that people should be using his age against him.

[Guest Sightsoblind]

It is not his physical age that makes me say yes but his old fashioned Ideals! The man told his wife she should sit down and shut up untill they started talking about something she knew like baking! ALL IN FRONT OF REPORTERS!!! I dont think so! Too old fashioned

[PorkChopExpress86]

It is not his physical age that makes me say yes but his old fashioned Ideals! The man told his wife she should sit down and shut up untill they started talking about something she knew like baking! ALL IN FRONT OF REPORTERS!!! I dont think so! Too old fashioned

To be fair, I say that to every woman I see who isn't in a kitchen.

[shinigamiinochi]

yeah, I don't think I'll be voting for McCain any time soon. It's kind of like Bush saying that birth control is offensive to women. He may not mean to be an ass, but he is. Though, that doesn't have anything to do with his age. My cousin, Trish, thinks the same way and she's only seven years older than me.

[foeofthelance]

Considering there are already several people who are much older than he is working in government, and some of them nearing the centennial mark, I'm going to say no, age has nothing to do with it. Besides, even if he does croak while in office, we took care of that a long, long time ago when we decided that there should be a Vice President, you know, just in case.

It is not his physical age that makes me say yes but his old fashioned Ideals! The man told his wife she should sit down and shut up untill they started talking about something she knew like baking! ALL IN FRONT OF REPORTERS!!! I dont think so! Too old fashioned

Really? Could I get a cite on that please? Just cause that seems like a particularly stupid thing to do in the middle of an election when you're trying to win over Hillary's feminist base...

[Guest Agaib]

I'm not a big fan of him, but age has nothing to do with it. So I said he's not too old. I wouldn't factor age into a voting decision unless they seemed like they were on the verge of dying.

[greenwizard]

I personally don't think age matters. Now whether or not he's healthy and active is. There are lots of reasons I don't like McCain, but age is not one of them.

[Psychostorm]

If he becomes President I hope he has a good VP because I don't think the old fart is going to last much longer.