DeclinetoState
05-04-2008, 10:14 AM
Jonathan Martin
Sun May 4, 7:57 AM ET
<!-- end storyhdr --> Is John McCain Ronald Reagan or Bob Dole?
Or, more to the point, will McCain be perceived as the vigorous, wood-chopping proclaimer of "Morning in America" or as a cranky senior senator prone to gaffes and the occasional stage tumble?
The sensitive question of age -- one of the trickiest and most unpredictable in the political playbook -- has been touched upon only glancingly since McCain became the de facto GOP nominee. But it is certain to hover over a candidate who will be 72 by Election Day.
For all the ink spilled on whether the country is ready for a woman or African-American, polls indicate that more Americans worry about having a president over 70.
And McCain's public image is unmistakably tied to his age. Pew surveys taken in February and again last month showed that when voters are asked what word they would identify with McCain, "old" was far and away the choice.
Recent presidential history shows being a septuagenarian is not a disqualifier. Reagan was 73 in his 1984 reelection campaign and won a 49-state landslide.
More (http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080504/pl_politico/10063)
Sun May 4, 7:57 AM ET
<!-- end storyhdr --> Is John McCain Ronald Reagan or Bob Dole?
Or, more to the point, will McCain be perceived as the vigorous, wood-chopping proclaimer of "Morning in America" or as a cranky senior senator prone to gaffes and the occasional stage tumble?
The sensitive question of age -- one of the trickiest and most unpredictable in the political playbook -- has been touched upon only glancingly since McCain became the de facto GOP nominee. But it is certain to hover over a candidate who will be 72 by Election Day.
For all the ink spilled on whether the country is ready for a woman or African-American, polls indicate that more Americans worry about having a president over 70.
And McCain's public image is unmistakably tied to his age. Pew surveys taken in February and again last month showed that when voters are asked what word they would identify with McCain, "old" was far and away the choice.
Recent presidential history shows being a septuagenarian is not a disqualifier. Reagan was 73 in his 1984 reelection campaign and won a 49-state landslide.
More (http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080504/pl_politico/10063)