Don't Avoid Questions Over McCain's Age

National Review Online: Presidency's Mental, Physical Demands May Overwhelm GOP Hopeful

(National Review Online)  This column was written by Thomas Sowell

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Among the painful signs of our time are the shocked reactions to Chuck Norris’s raising the question of whether Senator John McCain is too old to be president.

Have we reached the point where we have so many politically correct taboos that we can’t even talk sense?

Does a man in his seventies have less energy for either physical or mental tasks than someone younger? Those of us who are in our seventies know darn well that we can’t do everything we used to do, as well as we used to do it.

It was appalling to me when my driver’s license was renewed last year without my having to get behind the wheel of a car and demonstrate that I still could drive safely.

Even if my own driving was still all right, I could get killed by some other old-timer whose driving was not all right -- and who had not been tested behind the wheel for many years.

While teenagers have high rates of fatal accidents, the decline that sets in as they mature does not continue indefinitely. The rate of fatal accidents declines to a plateau in middle age -- and then begins to rise again for older people, until old-timers eventually reach the point where their rate of fatal accidents is at least as high as that of teenagers.

It is not just in physical tasks that age takes its toll. Even when our minds remain sharp, our energy levels are seldom the same, and that affects how long we can concentrate on a given day without taking a rest.

It is easy enough for me to take an afternoon nap and wake up refreshed, especially since my younger research assistants are working while I am dozing, and have plenty of material ready for me when I am ready to resume work.

But a president of the United States has to be ready to take on any crisis that arises anywhere in the world, at any hour of the day or night.

And if he has to deal with it around the clock, then he just stays awake around the clock to deal with it.

It can be a killing job. You need only look at pictures of Abraham Lincoln when he took office and compare them with the pictures of him just a few years later, when he looked like he had aged at least ten years during the Civil War.

Look at pictures of Franklin D. Roosevelt taken in 1940 and compare them with pictures of him taken in 1945, after World War II had taken its toll.

Today we know that FDR’s doctor had put him on a restricted schedule -- and that still was not enough to keep him from dying in office, just a few months after he began his final term as president.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was younger when he died than John McCain is right now. Moreover, FDR had not been abused for years as a prisoner of war.

When we are talking about a president of the United States, we are not talking about the fate of one individual, but the fate of a nation and of generations yet unborn.

This is no time to get squeamish or politically correct, when talking about whoever is to carry the load of the free world on his shoulders in the White House.

Quite aside from age, there is all too much evidence already that John McCain is not the kind of man who has given in-depth thought to many of the serious issues on which he shoots from the hip, which some people equate with “straight talk.”

The media have dubbed him a “maverick,” which is another way of spinning the fact that he is headstrong and unreliable.

Senator McCain’s teaming up with Senator Ted Kennedy on immigration, and with equally left-wing Senator Russ Feingold to violate the First Amendment in the name of “campaign-finance reform,” are classic examples of a loose cannon.

Senator McCain is not a bad man. He has some admirable qualities. But there are plenty of good people who would be dangerous in a job for which they are not suited.

Back in the 18th century, Edmund Burke said that some people “may do the worst of things without being the worst of men.” The White House is not the place for that.

[almanojodo]

McCain is not only simply TOO OLD, he is also to angry and too hawkish. McCain sees the world through military eyes and may well lead us into further war.
Say NO to McCain!

[stopkidding]

I agree with TBWeb, we need a president who can pull out the fingernails himself. McCain is just too old to get a head of steam up for torture. Now Huckabee, there is a guy who could torture!

[tbweb]

Any person who has spent time in a P.O.W. camp and has the audacity to not condemn torturing enemy combatants is already in a weak mental state.

Some day when we are in a war with a enemy that can attack us with a real military, we are going to wish we didn''''t have the reputation of a country that uses torture. We can''''t condemn others for torturing our military personel if we are doing it ourselves.

Posted by harp1963 at 07:01 PM : Jan 27, 2008,,,

This thinking is a common misconception, the new stateless enemy could care less what our policies are on torture, only established governments do who have their signature on the Geneva Convention. For example, its well known the U.S. does not have to worry about Islamic Extremist Terrorist groups torturing U.S. Prisoners because they don''t take any Prisoners, they kill them all and in fact not only do they kill them all, when they want to add drama to the killings they chop their heads off on web video or shoot them in the head gangster style. Islamic Terrorist have proven how the U.S. treats their Prisoners does not influence how they treat ours, all U.S. Prisoners face certain death.

[harp1963]

Any person who has spent time in a P.O.W. camp and has the audacity to not condemn torturing enemy combatants is already in a weak mental state.

Some day when we are in a war with a enemy that can attack us with a real military, we are going to wish we didn''t have the reputation of a country that uses torture. We can''t condemn others for torturing our military personel if we are doing it ourselves.

[cdfoxtrot]

I was "with" the author until near the end of the article, when it descended into petty politics with "Senator McCain%u2019s teaming up with Senator Ted Kennedy on immigration, and with equally left-wing Senator Russ Feingold to violate the First Amendment in the name of %u201Ccampaign-finance reform,%u201D are classic examples of a loose cannon." Sorry, but, I don''t think that working with Ted Kennedy disqualifies McCain from office. And calling Ted Kennedy and Russ Feingold "left-wing" shows ignorance of the term. No senior US politician is "left-wing". All US politics is right-wing by international standards, it''s just a question of degree. Ted Kennedy is less right-wing than others, but right-wing, nonetheless, in any meaningful use of the term.

[j_flood]

This man has endured physical pain on a level few of us know. He doubled that by undergoing a painstaking process of recovery from his torture. He''ll walk the walk. But let''s advise him to be cautious with his selection as VP - not some young buck intended to give the right geographical mix - Bush 41 did that. We need to team a responsible, experienced person as his VP. Just like we would if he were only 51.

[chrisl45]

This article borders on age discrimination. What you''r saying is lets round-up every one over 70 and get rid of them. What was the average age of death in the Roman times, the Middle Ages, the 1800''s, and the early 1900''s. If a man who is 50 went back in time people would be saying of him what you are saying of John McCain. Is mom is 95 so old age runs in his family. I myself am 51, eat healthy, have the body of a 20 year old, look for ways to live better, and plan on living a long time.

[jn122736]

%u201CBut a president of the United States has to be ready to take on any crisis that arises anywhere in the world, at any hour of the day or night%u201D.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I agree;
Just look at the impressive showing the younger President Bush made during the first hour of the 911 crises.

It really is doubtful that McCain could sit and read %u201Cmy pet goat%u201D as well or as long as Bush did.

[michaellitz2]

This is obviously shaping up to be the biggest CHANGE election in decades. In such an election, I sure hope that my party is not going to run a man who has been a "fixture" in Washington for nearly 30 years and a man who would be the OLDEST ever elected to a first Presidency! This is only the BEGGINING of what''s wrong with John McCain as a candidate but isn''t this enough? If you need to hear more I could mention the fact that he was and still IS on the wrong side of the amnesty issue for Illegal aliens. As Ann Coulter put it, " John McCain is Bob Dole without the charm, youth and conservatism". Remember how Bob Dole did??

[idlepugilist]

I don''t have a problem with McCain. He won''t be suffering from Ronnie Raygun''s disease. But, he probably would have Tim Pawlenty (MN governor) as VP, and THAT is troubling. If something happened to McCain, we''d have Pawlenty to deal with, and you can be assured he''s a photocopy of Bush''s strategies, based on everything that clown has spoken about to us in Minnesota.

[idlepugilist]

Norris. Here''s a guy in his mid 60''s, still a John Wayne wannabe, making a statement about McCain not having stamina. What a perfect way for McCain to be put in the spotlight to show how much energy he has. It''s all a show. McCain is thanking Norris right about now.

[skyk-2009]

Problem is, Alzheimers can hit at any time. Look at Reagan, everyone said the same thing, how fit he was. But in his second term, he slept at meetings and had forgetfulness, most likely the Alzheimers he had coming in. Maybe its time to add a maximum age to join our presidential minimum age. Yeah, I know a maximum age is unlikely to ever happen, but old presidents have to be a concern.

Posted by Rafterman1 at 02:54 PM : Jan 27, 2008
+ report abuse

I agree and we must also think about the issue of his health. John should do the honorable thing here and be the Elder Statesman.

[vastr-wcon]

.
AMNESTY-JOHN is the poster old-man for MANDATORY age limits for ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS. Just think how embarrassing it will be for Americans when AMNESTY-JOHN wets himself -or worse- in meetings with leaders of other countries. It would be just as bad as having a total moron representing America, and EVERYBODY knows how humiliating that has been.

.

[idlepugilist]

It never stopped Republicans from electing Ron Rayguns twice. This is not about age, this is about McCain being something other than an ultra-extremist far right wing nut.

[rafterman1]

===like Sen. John McCain and if you look at his mom and how well she is doing McCain could probably do 2 terms as President and still be in good shape when its over!===

Problem is, Alzheimers can hit at any time. Look at Reagan, everyone said the same thing, how fit he was. But in his second term, he slept at meetings and had forgetfulness, most likely the Alzheimers he had coming in. Maybe its time to add a maximum age to join our presidential minimum age. Yeah, I know a maximum age is unlikely to ever happen, but old presidents have to be a concern.

[tbweb]

I like Sen. John McCain and if you look at his mom and how well she is doing McCain could probably do 2 terms as President and still be in good shape when its over! McCain has other hurdles that may be impossible from him to overcome. First, Americans are tired of War and our troops have now been deployed longer than in WWII and need a break, not to mention the over use and stress on the Reserves that are actually an Active Duty force now in effect. Sen. McCain''s bomb, bomb Iran song implies the U.S. may be in for more War, not less! The other problem is will the Republican base support Sen. McCain after his perceived Amnesty stance on illegals? Judging from the Blogs some republicans will never forgive him for supporting the Frankenstein illegal immigration Bill that went down in defeat. Sen. McCain should probably run as an Independent because the Republican base has disowned him, and thats his problem more than anything else, a lack of Republican support!

[rushlimpdrug]

Give it up McCain.
America does not need you leading this country at this time.
Go read a comic book.
Have the nurse change your Depends.
You had your chance and blew it BIGTIME.
Your kind of politics has hurt this country enough.

[zeezilman]

McCain%u2019s %u201CHispanic Outreach Director%u201D, Juan Hernandez, is the same guy who was a close advisor to Mexico%u2019s President Vicente Fox! Hernandez headed up a Mexican bureaucracy called the %u201CPresidential Office for Mexicans Abroad.%u201D It was designed to allow Hernandez to travel across the country, meddling with local, state, and federal immigration enforcement on behalf of millions of illegal aliens in America. Prior to aligning with the campaign staff, Hernandez has been serving in McCain%u2019s Reform Institute as a Senior Fellow of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Initiative.

U.S. born dual citizen Juan Hernandez is notorious for having said of Mexican Americans on Nightline on June 7, 2001, %u201CI want the third generation, the seventh generation, I want them all to think Mexico first.%u201D

Does John McCain agree that they should always %u201Cthink Mexico first?%u201D With Hernandez as his %u201CHispanic Outreach Director%u201D, who began serving last year, I don%u2019t think there is any question. Is there any reason that anyone should think open borders fanatic Dr. Hernandez wants President McCain to secure the border? Is there any reason that anyone should trust a man to secure the border if he is getting his %u201CHispanic Outreach%u201D advice from Dr. Juan Hernandez? Is there any reason why anyone should not think that John McCain is committed to giving amnesty to the 20 million illegal aliens in America?