McCain’s age

Republicans are acting like any suggestion that McCain’s age makes him less qualified for the presidency is unfair and ageist, no different than sexism or racism. I really don’t see how this is true.

We’ve generally agreed that health is a relevant issue, with candidates expected to release medical records to prove there is no unusual danger of medical problems complicating their presidency. Age is a relevant health issue. Even if your most recent physical is excellent, at some point the fact that you’re very old means that health problems are likely in the not-so-distant future. People are still debating whether Ronald Reagan had memory problems while in office. Of course, you can never know, and anyone, even someone young, could end up with a health problem. Nevertheless, it seems like a legitimate concern and something that should be okay to talk about.

It’s true that some concerns regarding age are prejudiced and unfounded, but some are totally reasonable. I don’t know to what extent there are any serious age-related concerns about McCain, but I know I’d like to see a well-researched news article on the topic with the relevant statistics, and that won’t happen as long as even suggesting that age is a problem is seen as unfair.

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June 17, 2008 · Written by
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