It's not ageism... it's physiology

I find it interesting how we are over-sensitized to discrimination in this country, and have started to dote over this new ageism concept. I will not disagree that we are indoctrinated socially to have certain perspectives about the way older or more senior Americans drive, where they may prefer to eat, their preferred musical choices, etc. However I would also say that there are definite physical distinctions on which these may be based; physiological developments that occur as we age that lead our more experienced fellow citizens to act certain ways.

That being said, I did want to make the point that I certainly disavow and denounce any prejudicial action or the general loss of patience related to the more seasoned Americans among us. We need to maintain the utmost respect, not just for our veterans and soldiers, but anyone who has succeeded at toiling their way through the politics of our nation through 60 birthdays.

And why do I bring this up? What do I care about age? Well, for starters, I definitely worry sometimes when my 82 year-old grandmother decides to drive home at night. But more recently, comments that John McCain made to reporters caught my attention. Check out http://www.newsmax.com/politics/mccain/2008/08/09/120525.html for some quotes.

But in all seriousness, does age matter? Um... DEFINITELY. Here you have John McCain openly admitting, though trying to pull it off as a joke, that he's "not that sharp" early in the morning. And that he needs to sleep in a little later. What? What kind of work ethic is that? The Executive Branch isn't a bridge club with your friends from the Rec Center. It's the highest office in the land! Obama might be on a short vacation, but he's been campaigning longer, had a MUCH tougher primary season, and just got off a much more scrutinized worldwide tour than McCain's last globe-trot.

I think the ageism argument is a political tool by the RNC and the McCain campaign to have something to fight back against in the case that the other side decides to pull the racism argument (which I think is a heftier argument, but I'll leave that for later). The reality, however, is that a truly engaged presidency (which both of these candidates claim to desire in some form or another), is an enormously stressful position. And if John McCain can't handle the application process, what makes him think he can handle the actual job?