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« Elder Co-Housing | Main | Power-Up Friday: Is Grandma Drugged Up? »

May 30, 2008 |Permalink |Comments (0)

Political Reverse Ageism

From the New York Times

by Micheal Luo

Now who’s making age an issue?

Senator John McCain mocked Senator Barack Obama here today at an airport rally, repeatedly calling him a “young man” with “very little experience.”

Mr. McCain, 71, who would become, if he is elected, the oldest first-term president in history, has been laying out a case against Mr. Obama based upon judgment and experience.

But this time he introduced a new moniker for Mr. Obama, repeatedly calling him “young man.”

“I admire and respect Senator Obama,” Mr. McCain said, his voice full of sarcasm. “For a young man with very little experience, he’s done very well.”

It is true that that ageism operates in both directions. I remember once meeting a very talented and highly professional who happened to be a woman and who also happened to appear younger than her sated age. She struggled constantly against the unfair bias people held against people who looked as young as she did. Some might say that "looking too young" is nothing to complain about but that fact is that her youthful appearance caused others to judge her via a stereotype rather than by her performance.

And that's never a good thing.

McCain is playing with fire here. Near the end of May, his campaign lashed out at Obama after Obama wondered if McCain was "losing his bearings." They objected to injecting age into the campaign.

So now we have...

“I admire and respect Senator Obama,” Mr. McCain said, his voice full of sarcasm. “For a young man with very little experience, he’s done very well.”

This might just be McCain attempting a classical Rovian political maneuver by attacking his opponent's greatest strength with his own greatest weakness. The classic example of this came in 2004 when George (Where was he during Viet Nam?) Bush questioned John (Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart) Kerry's patriotism.

I don't think age should be an issue in the campaign. We have much more important things to argue about. However, if McCain succeeds in making age a campaign issue he will be very sorry that he did so. It is not right, it is not wise but the truth is that America's presidential elections are about the future not the past.

John McCain was born during FDR's first term in office.
Barack Obama was born when JFK was president.

Here is a sample of the world of hurt that McCain can expect if age becomes central to the campaign.

Things Younger than John McCain...

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