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« 12 People who Are Changing Aging No. 4 | Main | 12 People who Are Changing Aging -- No. 5 »

February 22, 2008 |Permalink |Comments (2)

Age Games

I caught this comment on a right of center political blog a while ago and have been meaning to blog about it...

"Romney is certainly my choice;however,I do not live in a primary state. Come November I will vote for McCain---never Hillary. Romney is still a young man. Why not Romney for Veep?

"

Mitt Romney is "still a young man."

How interesting. When was Mitt Romney born?

Our friend the Wikipedia tells us that...

Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American businessman and politician. Formerly the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Romney unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election.

There is another presidential candidate who is just about Mitt's age. Guess who.

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947) is the junior United States Senator from New York, and a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election. She is married to Bill Clinton—the 42nd President of the United States—and was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

So Mitt "still a young man" Romney is six month older than Hillary Clinton.

A comment from a different right of center blog tells the tale...

Running in 2012 is not an option. First she’s getting too old and secondly she would be fighting an uphill battle against an incumbent president, be it McCain or Obama, eevn if she won the nomination the 2nd time around. Losing to Obama in 2008 when she was considered to be at the top of her game would doom her, even if Obama loses the general election.

The point I am making has nothing to do with the candidates or their relative merits as politicians. Instead, I think this is an example of how much more difficult our culture makes things for older women, compared with older men. Status, wealth, prestige, honors--- none of those things offer older women any real protection against ageist bigotry.

Comments ( 2)

the feminist part of me: Right On!

the old lady part: sigh.

thanks!

Posted by naomi dagen bloom
February 22, 2008 11:49 AM

The fact that women are often scrutinized through the application of different standards is undoubtedly true. I just wonder if, in this case, the fact that it was two different people commenting on the candidates may have had an impact on the value judgment.
I guess I am wondering if the same person who assessed Hillary as "getting too old" would have considered Romney old as well.
I don't know. I hope so, I guess...

Posted by Dorothea Johnson
February 23, 2008 8:00 PM

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