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Speaking from Old Guy experience myself, I don’t think we want an Old Guy for president
Not meaning to speak disrespectfully of the dead, I recall how puzzling it was when President Reagan testified in the Iran-Contra hearings. Time after time, he said in effect, “I don’t recall.” At the time, being a skeptic by nature, I thought that was a convenient way out for Reagan to testify, yet get away with not really testifying to anything important.
Not many years later, we learned that he had Alzheimer’s disease — a terrible tragedy for him, his family, and the nation no matter what your politics might be. This horrible disease destroys minds, lives, and families with no regard to political affiliation, creed, or character. Science is learning about this scourge and some day may defeat it and even find a way to reverse the process, restoring minds much like you might replace or restore degraded system memory in your computer. We ought all to pray for that day.
Meanwhile, as we consider our elected leadership in this country, we cannot deny there is risk in electing elderly leaders. I’m talking about Sen. John McCain specifically. First, let me say that he seems to be a nice person. Indeed, I applaud the way he and Sen. Barak Obama have — SO FAR! — pretty much avoided “going negative” in their presidential ad spots. What a refreshing difference — SO FAR! — from the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns.
All that aside, I can tell you as someone rapidly turning into an Old Guy myself that McCain’s age really can become a factor in his presidency. I don’t really have time to check the numbers, but I recall hearing that if he is elected he will be the oldest president ever elected in the U.S.
At this point, McCain certainly “passes muster” physically and mentally for quality leadership. The reality is, however, that if he becomes president his presidency will be happening at exactly the time that many brilliant, healthy people start to slowly “slide” physically and mentally, and sometimes even plunge downhill rapidly.
Do you want to take that gamble with the presidency? I can’t tell you how to vote. I really wouldn’t want to tell you NOT to vote for McCain because of his age. But I do want you to think seriously about it if you haven’t yet.
[tags]presidential campaign, age and leadership, physical and mental aging, just a guy who reads the papers[/tags]
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