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John McCain: ‘Dazed and Confused’?

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TPM has put together quite a clip collection, showing John McCain, during the campaign, as rather “dazed and confused.” It’s definitely worth watching.

Now, the clip shows a series of gaffes, mistakes, and incidents even Fox News describes as “senior moments,” and it’s pretty devastating. Age aside, McCain really does frequently come across as not especially sharp.

Ezra watched the same clip, and noted that it might not be especially fair to McCain.

Not to be overly fair here, but if I were giving daily speeches, on camera, over a period of months, you’d probably be able to string together a video of me looking a bit befuddled too. McCain’s enduring a pretty grueling campaign schedule right now and has proven his physical and mental fitness for the presidency, at least to my satisfaction. If you try and equate his age with senility, a lot of voters will notice that he’s not senile and dismiss the assault.

Maybe. In general, it’s pretty difficult to make the case that McCain is genuinely senile, but I’m not sure if that was the point of the TPM video. Rather, this seems more to me like a statement about the media’s coverage and the perceptions of McCain as a candidate.

Josh wrote the other day:

Out of general fondness, the Washington press corps (which is not just a phrase but a definable community of people) has for almost a decade graded John McCain on a curve, especially in the last eighteen months when he’s slipped perceptibly. Now, in response to the bludgeoning and campaign of falsehoods his campaign has unleashed over the last ten days, a number of his longtime admirers in the punditocracy have written articles either claiming that they’d misjudged the man or lamenting his betrayal of his better self.

So my question is, do they and the top editors who with them define the tone of coverage, keep grading McCain on the curve that has so aided him over the last year?

Let’s be frank. On the campaign trail this cycle, McCain frequently forgets key elements of policies, gets countries’ names wrong, forgets things he’s said only hours or days before and is frequently just confused. Any single example is inevitable for someone talking so constantly day in and day out. But the profusion of examples shows a pattern. Some of this is probably a matter of general unseriousness or lack of interest in policy areas like the economy that he doesn’t care much about. But for any other politician who didn’t have the benefit of years of friendship or acquaintance with many of the reporters covering him, this would be a major topic of debate in the campaign. It’s whispered about among reporters. And it’s evidenced in his campaign’s increasing effort to keep him away from the freewheeling conversations with reporters that defined his 2000 candidacy. But it’s verboten as a topic of public discussion.

Exactly. Under normal standards, a presidential candidate who makes the kind of embarrassing errors that McCain makes would develop a reputation. There’d be talk about whether McCain is really up to the job. The narrative would invariably focus on McCain’s befuddled public appearances.

But that hasn’t happened. That’s what made the TPM clip, at least for me, both provocative and poignant — someone needed to help tie this point together.

Comments

  • Katie Chop

    says:

    I don’t have the priviledge of watching the ad right now, as I am at work. However, I think both comments are spot-on. Yes, this has been a gruelling campaign, mentally and physically. That said, don’t Americans want the candidate that is in top-shape? Being 71 (72 at time of inauguration) does have downsides. People in golden years tend to get tired easily. I’m not saying all people 60-70 years young are, but its a generality.

    It concerns me to potentially have a president that is forgetful and such. I don’t think McCain should be given a curve at all. He would be given the most powerful job title in the free world. Would you rather have that person be someone who was forgiven for many slip-ups and gets his facts confused, or someone who is fit mentally? I pick the second one.

  • SteveT

    says:

    “Now, in response to the bludgeoning and campaign of falsehoods his campaign has unleashed over the last ten days, a number of his longtime admirers in the punditocracy have written articles either claiming that they’d misjudged the man or lamenting his betrayal of his better self.” — Josh Marshall, TPM

    If you talk about things you truly believe then you’re less likely to get confused. If you have to remember to talk about this week’s position instead of last week’s position then it’s inevitable that you’re going to screw up on a regular basis.

  • Bruno

    says:

    I agree with what Katie Chop said and would like to add:

    Why is it OK for a “white republican guy” to get away with certain things (as mentioned in the article)?

    BUT

    A woman (Hillary Clinton) would be held to a much higher standard than a ‘normal white guy’, let alone McCain and the way he behaves.

    AND

    A minority candidate (Barrack Obama) has probably even more to prove in order to be considered fit for the office of the President.

    It’s a pretty sad comment on the Caucasian race in general and the conservatives / republicans in particular to adhere to such a lopsided double standard.

    The world is probable wondering about the hypocrisy while Bush goes around moralizing the rest of the world.

  • MW

    says:

    In 2000 when Gore referred to a trip he had made with the head of FEMA, when in reality it was the deputy head of FEMA, the media made a huge thing of it; claimed it was another example of Gore being a “serial exaggerator”. There was no talk of it being a minor mix-up, certainly no mention of the fact that Gore had made numerous trips to disaster sites with the head of FEMA, even if this specific one was with a deputy. Why should McCain always be given the benefit of a “Shucks, it was just a little mix-up”?

  • bkmn

    says:

    “pretty grueling campaign schedule”??? McAged takes every weekend off and usually only schedules one campaign event per day…how is that a “pretty grueling campaign schedule”?

  • Rich

    says:

    If one is really concerned with ‘fairness’, then let’s see a compilation of Obama’s bloopers too. Whoops. That’s probably too short to show, but I’m sure the Roverians will manufacture one anyway. Clever, those Roverians.

  • Racer X

    says:

    I still think the #1 thing McMoron should be hammered on is his repeated insistence that al Qaeda fighters were being brought into Iran and trained by their enemies the Iranians to conduct operations against the government of Iraq, which has friendly relations with Iran.

    Anyone who said anything THAT stupid is totally unqualified to work at the State Department, much less oversee it (and all other Executive branch agencies). McCain’s statements were no less ignorant than Bluto Blutarsky’s rant about the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor.

    The press corps needs to ask themselves if they like the idea of a 72 yr old Bluto Blutarsky as president. With his finger on the Red Button.

    The average American may not realize how stupid and dangerous McCain’s ignorance is, but the press corps should, and they should think long and hard about McCain’s foreign policy “reputation” and their role in creating/maintaining it.

  • Greg Worley

    says:

    It shouldn’t be about the inconsistencies, the gaffes, or the befuddlement in and of themselves. It should be about what they indicate — an aging, crude frat boy, who either doesn’t care enough to get it right or doesn’t have the brains to get it right. Haven’t we had enough of that during the last seven years?

  • hark

    says:

    I’ve formed an opinion that McCain is too old, a has-been, incapable of handling the presidency, but I don’t think these clips by themselves prove anything. It’s the overall impression I have of McCain over the months of campaigning that leads me to this conclusion. It’s certainly not based on a handful of gaffes.

    I don’t think an hour-long mosaic of Bushisms would prove anything either.

    Casey Stengel was utterly incoherent on a regular basis, yet his teams won five World Series in a row. Was he incompetent? Hardly.

    I really think it’s shocking that the media is either covering for him or too obtuse to see that he has no business running for president, but I also think a five minute clip of stumbling and bumbling presents a pretty thin case. You could probably compile a pretty embarrassing five minute sketch on every one of us.

    It’s his overall performance that proves the case that’s he’s not fit for the job.

  • Frak

    says:

    Racer X said; “The average American may not realize how stupid and dangerous McCain’s ignorance is, but the press corps should, and they should think long and hard about McCain’s foreign policy “reputation” and their role in creating/maintaining it.”

    Unfortunately, the press is a little behind on this type of thinking, they still haven’t come to grips with how they helped elect the evil moron, Bush II.

  • SteveT

    says:

    Now, the clip shows a series of gaffes, mistakes, and incidents even Fox News describes as “senior moments,” and it’s pretty devastating. Age aside, McCain really does frequently come across as not especially sharp.

    Actually, I didn’t think the video was very effective. A number of the example were McCain simply transposing one word for another. And McCain saying “That’s not change we can believe in,” over and over during his infamous “green screen” speech doesn’t prove anything other than that his rectus grin isn’t pleasant to look at.

    In this case, less would have been more. They should have played McCain’s entire painfully meandering riff on gas prices at Sturgis. They should have played all four examples of McCain demonstrating he doesn’t know the difference between Sunni and Shii’a. And the explanations of why Iran wouldn’t be training Al Qaeda, and how long it’s been since Checkoslovakia existed should have been on their own screen so the vast majority of Americans who don’t know those things either could read and understand.

    We’ve already seen with Reagan and W that a lot of Americans find verbal gaffes to be endearing. I wholeheartedly endorse raising the question of McCain’s mental acuity. But the question needs to sharply focus on whether McCain is still mentally agile enough to be president so it doesn’t look like we’re just making fun of old people.

  • Nashville_fan

    says:

    Why is John McCain allowed to tell BOLD FACED LIES about Barack Obama, but the media wonders if it is “fair” to John McCain to point out that he is an idiot using HIS OWN WORDS!

  • stormskies

    says:

    Beyond the obvious befuddlement of McRove=McBush, and the Corporate Medias incredible efforts to protect him, lie for him, create false images/ ideas of him, and the clear and evil double standard as applied to any Democrat, Clinton or Obama or … just read below what was posted on Politico below about the tactics employed by McAsshole and imagine what the Corporate Media would be doing if this where Obama and his people ……….. there would literally be fist fights among the ‘media elite’ to see who could get their evil faces on the camera first so as to ejaculate about the evils of Obama ..

    According to the Politico’s Jonathan Martin:

    John McCain’s campaign is considering a series of tactics intended to focus attention on the Republican’s effort to address the economy, including a jobs-oriented tour of targeted states, an economic summit and family roundtable events “heavily tilted towards women,” according to an internal memo.

    In a document titled “Economic Communications Plan” sent Sunday to top campaign aides and economic advisers and obtained by Politico, McCain communications adviser Taylor Griffin writes that their polling reveals “Americans are still not tuned into what the candidates might do to fix the economy.”

    To address that, Griffin writes, McCain needs to convey three ideas:
    1. McCain understands the economic problems of ordinary Americans. Barack Obama does not.
    2. McCain understands that the situation is urgent.
    3. McCain’s “Jobs for America” plan is superior.

    Thankfully Americablog has discovered the original version of this policy memo with margin notes about sticky areas to avoid discussing:

    DRAFT MEMO ON MCCAIN AND ECONOMIC POLICY PUSH

    1. McCain understands the economic problems of ordinary Americans. Barack Obama does not.

    Note: Don’t Mention That Senator McCain Extreme Wealth Makes It Hard to Relate To The Concerns of Everyday Americans. Do not discuss taste in clothing or HOUSES!!!

    John & Cindy McCain Own At Least Ten Houses In Arizona, California, and Virginia Worth an Estimated $13,823,269. [San Diego County Property Records; Maricopa County Property Records; Yavapai County Property Records; Arlington County Property Records; GQ, 3/18/08; McCain 2008 Senate Financial Disclosure Report]

    McCain Was The Eighth Wealthiest Senator In 2006 Based On His 2006 PFD. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, John McCain was the eighth wealthiest Senator in 2006, based on his 2006 personal financial disclosure. McCain’s minimum net worth was listed at $ 27,817,187 and his maximum net worth was listed at $45,045,011. [Center For Responsive Politics via Opensecrets.org, accessed 4/2/08]

    McCain Was Seen Wearing $520 Ferragamo Loafers. The Huffington Post reported that John McCain wore a pair of $520 leather Ferragamo loafers to several campaign events, from a meeting with the Dalai Lama to a stopover at a Pennsylvania supermarket. [HuffingtonPost.com, accessed 7/30/08]

    2. McCain understands that the situation is urgent.

    Note: Please Avoid Mentioning McCain’s Congressional Action on Key Economic Policies. Remember that Senator McCain Was “Focused On Other Stuff” And “Too Busy” To Cast The Deciding Vote On The Stimulus Bill To Extend Unemployment Benefits, Even Though He Was In Washington, DC.

    McCain Skipped Vote on Stronger Stimulus Package. On February 6, 2008, McCain skipped a vote that would have bolstered the economic stimulus package to offer additional help for American families and businesses. [CQ Today, 2/6/08]

    • McCain Would have been Deciding Vote. Senate Democrats had 59 votes to end debate and bring the stimulus package to a vote – including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton – meaning McCain would have cast the deciding vote. “The tally was 58-41 to end debate on the Senate measure” because Majority Leader Harry Reid “switched his vote to ‘no’ at the last moment” so he can “bring the measure up for a revote.” [Associated Press, 2/7/08]

    • Mccain Was In Washington For Vote. The Associated Press reported, McCain’s “decision to miss the vote appeared to come at the last minute, after his plane had landed at Dulles International Airport outside Washington just before the proceedings opened on the Senate floor.” [Associated Press, 2/6/08]

    • McCain “Too Busy” to Show Up and Vote, “Focused on Other Stuff.” Asked on his plane to Washington about the vote, McCain said, “I haven’t had a chance to talk about it at all, have not had the opportunity to, even,” McCain said. “We’ve just been too busy, focused on other stuff. I don’t know if I’m doing that. We’ve got a couple of meetings scheduled.” [Associated Press, 2/6/08]

    McCain Said It Is Necessary To Work A Second Job Or Skip Vacation. During his speech on the mortgage crisis, McCain said, “Of those 80 million homeowners, only 55 million have a mortgage at all, and 51 million are doing what is necessary – working a second job, skipping a vacation, and managing their budgets – to make their payments on time. That leaves us with a puzzling situation: how could 4 million mortgages cause this much trouble for us all?” [McCain Remarks On The Housing Crisis, 3/25/08]

    McCain Blamed Homeowners As “Irresponsible” And Opposed Federal Help During remarks on the housing crisis, John McCain said, “I have always been committed to the principle that it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.” [McCain Remarks On The Housing Crisis, 3/25/08]

    3. McCain’s “Jobs for America” plan is superior.

    Note: Under NO Circumstances Should Senator McCain Repeat His “So-Called” Straight Talk That He Knows American Jobs Lost To Trade Deals That Help Corporate America Are “Not Coming Back” !!!

    McCain: “We In America Have Experienced A Dramatic Loss Of Manufacturing Jobs… Those Jobs Are Not Coming Back.” During a town hall meeting in Inez, Kentucky, John McCain said, “We in America have experienced a dramatic loss of manufacturing jobs. Not only here but particularly across areas of America that are our traditional manufacturing base. I have to tell you and I have to tell you this very honestly that many of those jobs are not coming back to America.” [McCain Town Hall in Inez, Kentucky, 4/23/08]

    McCain Justified Job Losses By Saying “It Was Never A Lot Of People’s Ambition To Have Their Children Work In A Textile Mill.” During a roundtable in Santa Ana, California, John McCain said, “I believe that NAFTA has been a great thing for America…I went to South Carolina and I told the people of South Carolina that the old textile mill jobs weren’t coming back and they aren’t coming back. And frankly it was never a lot of people’s ambition to have their children work in a textile mill.” [Roundtable in Santa Ana, California, 3/25/08; emphasis added]

    McCain: “Let The American Businesses Have Their Way.” During a speech in Tampa, Florida, John McCain said, “So I went to New Hampshire and I told them the truth, and we had over a hundred town hall meetings. And we went to Michigan, and we told them the truth, they didn’t like it much. And we went to South Carolina and we told them the truth, that maybe the old textile mills weren’t coming back… Let the American businesses have their way and get the government out of their way.” [McCain Speech in Tampa, Florida, 1/28/08]

    Labels: economy

    Susan Collins likes message of negative ads linking unions to mafia
    · 8/07/2008 03:51:00 PM ET · Link
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    Anti-union ads, featuring a character from the Sopranos acting like a mafia tough guy, are running in Maine against Tom Allen. Not kidding:

    In a new ad, a mob boss from the Sopranos makes a guest appearance with cardboard cutouts of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Bangor) and U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Portland), who is challenging Collins.

    The ad is part of a campaign opposing candidates who support the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation intended to make it easier for workers to organize by eliminating the requirement of the private ballot.

    Pretty low to compare unions, which represent working men and women, to the mafia, but that’s clearly the point of the ad.

    So, which United States Senator from Maine agrees with the message of that ad? Susan Collins. Collins Watch has the details. Just pretty fricking low. Susan Collins is no moderate — and no friend of working men and women.

    Support Tom Allen here.

    UPDATE: Just found out the AFL-CIO is fighting back for Tom Allen and against the union bashing. Good. Workers deserve way better than the crap Susan Collins and her right-wing cronies are throwing out.

    Labels: susan collins, tom allen

    McCain getting “testy” over Social Security tax increase flip-flop
    · 8/07/2008 02:46:00 PM ET · Link
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    Bloomberg:

    Getting Testy

    The tax-benefit dilemma has not only thrown McCain into rhetorical contortions, it’s also caused him to get testy when pressed to explain.

    During a campaign bus ride last week in Missouri, a reporter said his July 27 comment presumably meant McCain wasn’t ruling out raising taxes.

    “That’s presuming wrong,” McCain said in cutting him off, according to the Washington Post.

    Still, he has a history of being open to new Social Security taxes.

    In a “Meet the Press” interview in 2005, McCain unequivocally endorsed the idea of levying such taxes on high- income earners, saying he could support that “as part of a compromise.”

    There are a number of problems here for McCain. First, the story is far from over – the media keeps revisiting McCain’s flip flop partly because McCain himself hasn’t put the controversy to rest – would he or would he not consider raising taxes to fix Social Security? Second, there’s the issue of McCain’s temper. McCain has a notoriously bad temper, leading some GOP senators to suggest that he’d be a bad president. Every time McCain loses his temper, and every time a reporter notes it, that only helps Obama.

    Labels: john mccain, temper

  • JoeW

    says:

    I think Ezra is missing the point. It’s not that senility is an either/or condition. Or a threshold, that once crossed marks a point of no return. McCain is showing symptoms of what I would call a very tired brain. He can usually pull some thoughts together and get them in a coherent sequence. But uncomfortably often, he appears to have some difficulty doing so. He can’t seem to stay ‘on his toes’ for a prolonged period. To me, this makes him too old and too risky when confronted with the unexpected.

  • Prup (aka Jim Benton)

    says:

    A quick one, but try and remember the strain that being President puts on anyone. It’s not that McCain is so bad now — though I think he is, and is showing signs of Alzheimers — but what he will be like two or four years into a term — if he could possibly win, which he can’t.

  • SteveT

    says:

    JoeW said:
    He can’t seem to stay ‘on his toes’ for a prolonged period. To me, this makes him too old and too risky when confronted with the unexpected.

    What’s really scary is the idea of President McCain being a puppet controlled by people behind the scenes who haven’t been (and couldn’t be) elected themselves.

    With all of Bush’s faults (many, many, MANY faults), I think he was the one who was making all the bad decisions (many, many, MANY bad decisions).

  • SadOldVet

    says:

    If you questionably concede that McSame’s problem is not age or senility, what other conclusion is there other than that he is just another stupid rethugnican with a sense of entitlement?

  • dannyshenanigan

    says:

    The Casey Stengel analogy is just wrong. Stengel was funny man who knew what he was doing all the time. Hark might be thinking of Yogi Berra of whom Casey Stengel said “He’d fall in a sewer and come up with a gold watch”. Berra was famous for contradicting himself in the same sentence. From wikipedia-“Simultaneously denying and confirming his reputation, Berra once stated, “I never said half the things I really said.” ”

    Yogi managed the Yankees and the Mets. Both talented teams and did win two league pennants, but lost both world series. That’s who McCain more closely resembles. A wildly popular guy who misquotes himself and wins the nomination (league championship) but loses the series.

  • Steve

    says:

    John McCain is not “dazed and confused;” he’s playing the part that has been scripted for him by the Rovians, and they’re already trying to move into the second phase, being the “it’s-not-his-fault” gambit. They’re looking at how Hillary fell apart against “Obamakrieg” in February, but came back strong in the latter months with the kitchen sink and the excuses that her shortcomings were the fault of her handlers. McCain’s people are trying the same thing, knowing that the only way they fall from power is if their candidate falls from power.

    “Dazed and confused” isn’t the line I’d use to describe McStoned, though. It’s more like a really bad soliloquy of Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke….

  • maya

    says:

    OK, so he’s just a little senile. Like just being a little pregnant.
    Remember, his deficit budget reversal plan – after permanent tax cuts for Corporations, Charlie Gibson,Katie Cuoric,Brian Williams, Wolf Blitzer, and the entire cast of FOX news are made – will only kick in in his 5th year of being President, when he’s 76! How much of his “plan” will he, or they, remember then when that deficit reversal doesn’t happen?
    Good way to sell snake oil, though. Gotta buy TWO bottles to experience any relief, maybe.

  • Lance

    says:

    The MSM isn’t pointing out JSMcC*nt’s senility (that’s what it is) because the race would truely be over (unless the Republican’ts get their act together and replace him at the convention) and the MSM would lose ratings because we won’t be paying attention to the race anymore.

    JSMcC*nt’s campaign knows this, so they are working hard to remain the underdog until the ‘last moment’, when pointing out that JSMcC*nt is unfit to be President will be too late.

  • Chad

    says:

    Where are the links showing Obama stuttering and stammering on tough questions, and coming up with some outlandish statements.

    I would really like to compare and contrast those with McCain”s for me to make a solid, rational decision in November. I would especially like to see the ‘uh’ count for Obama.

  • Helena Montana

    says:

    Ezra says: “McCain’s enduring a pretty grueling campaign schedule right now and has proven his physical and mental fitness for the presidency, at least to my satisfaction.”

    Ezra and I appear to have very different standards of mental fitness for the presidency. A man who has a hairtrigger temper (to put it delicately), cannot bear to be questioned repeatedly on a subject, and one who cannot answer a simple question without being extensively prepped is not, in my view, anywhere NEAR mentally fit to be president. Witness the incumbent.

    Physically, McCain seems to be fine.

  • Atticus

    says:

    It’s not the fact that McCain makes gaffes and mistakes that bothers me. What bothers me is the blank, lost, deer-in-the-headlights look he has whenever he’s caught off guard by something. Can you imagine him when he gets the call that China has launched it nukes at the US? I get the impression McCain would stammer and yammer and piddle all over himself in that situation rather than take any leadership actions.

  • Chad

    says:

    Atticus, and I’m sure Obama would be the calm in the storm if China attacked, this from a guy that has absolutely zero experience in anything even remotely close to military force or tactics.

  • Chad

    says:

    addendum:

    What would Obama do? Try to talk to the Chinese and say “Chill Bro, it’s me Barack, everybody loves America now because I’m President. Why you hating? Come on over here and give me a fist-bump and we can settle this on the court. You bring Yao, I’ll bring Shaq. Let’s do this.”

  • Always hopeful

    says:

    Chad, aren’t they missing you over at some RW website?

    You.got.nothing. Your candidate is the stumbler, bumbler. There are no clips of Obama doing the same. So you have to make some juvenile accusation. Way to go.

  • Chad

    says:

    Oh, Always Hopeful, You really haven’t heard Obama’s struggling with Couric’s question about the surge when he was over in Iraq? You haven’t seen him trying to compose himself, telling the audience to quiet down because he couldn’t hear himself think? You’ve never seen him give answers off the cuff where he stutters and stammers trying to focus on a thought? Oh, Maybe you have, but you just tend to ignore it because rainbows fly of of Obama’s ass.

  • libra

    says:

    What would Obama do? Try to talk to the Chinese and say “Chill Bro, […] — Chad, @28

    And that would be different from McCain’s: “I’d sit them (Sunni and Shi’ites) down and tell them to cut the bullshit”? How? And, while we don’t know what Obama might do, we do know that that’s what McCain would do, because he actually said so.

    PS China doesn’t need to invade us; it pretty much owns us already and effectively pulls the strings from afar. Why, do you think the Clueless George refuses to even mention their (lousy) record on human rights, their cozying up to Sudan and Russia, etc, etc, etc and him so fond of pushing “freedom” everywhere he goes? Because it’s not prudent to bite the hand that feeds you and even the Still pResident knows it.

  • Bose

    says:

    Half of my family tree includes several folks who persevered coherently into their 90s, near and beyond the century mark. So, the personal transitions from the 60s, to the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and beyond feel real and organic to me.

    I’m frustrated with my visceral response to John McCain. Ideally, I’d trust that his bright eyes and a huge smile were 100% organic, due to good exercise, nutrition and a great attitude. Viscerally, though, he strikes me as a 72-year-old who’s had the benefits of a enough subtle nips, tucks, and pulls to help him appear more alert than he would naturally.

    It’s so tricky. My best friend has lived with McCain-like skin cancer since age 5. One of the simplest routines for him over the decades has been what he calls “slice-and-dice,” i.e., a dermatologist appointment. You never know what the doc will choose to poke, prod, sample, or cut out all together, often leaving a handful of stitches behind. For these folks, effective health care includes effective cosmetic techniques.

    Even while embracing that sort of complexity, I can’t escape my gut response to McCain: That decades of superb health care, not ultimately constrained by any insurance company or personal financial limits, are helping him to put the best possible 72-y/o face on his campaign.

    How does this relate to the Dazed and Confused video? Substantively, asking whether, and why, we trust that John McCain is so much more ready to take on a long-term executive commitment than most 72-year-olds with relevant experience. How is he like, or not like, Summer Redstone, or Ronald Reagan? Who does he draw on, and look up to, as an executive who has served into his/her mid-to-late 70s or beyond?

    Next, there have been suggestions that McCain’s appearance schedule has been lighter that many politicos might have advised or expected. He has made fewer appearances on the Senate floor than his colleagues campaigning for the same office, ends most of his days earlier, and has had more full-day gaps from the campaign and fund-raising trail. If elected, his predecessor will have spent record amounts of time in favored vacation spots, yet Bush was 18 years younger. Is he ready to commit, consistent with recent attacks on the congressional recess, that he will be on the job more days than Bush?

    Finally, the primary reasons that a few 70-, 80-, or 90-somethings get to keep leading their organizations (but most are retired) are (a) ownership and/or (b) long-term executive service. McCain is neither.

    It’s fine by me that he’s pushing the envelope, telling us a 72-y/o should be elected president… but it’s time for him to explain why. And, how he understands and will interpret the challenges of possibly pushing toward retiring from the presidency as an 80-year-old.

    But, it also seems to me, he should be clear in answering questions about whether he’s used cosmetic surgeries.

  • Bruno

    says:

    chad You’re making it too easy. There simply is no substance coming from you.

    Can we please have some better trolls. A ron pointed out a few days ago and suggested we engage with chad, it doesn’t seem that Chad actually wants to engage in looking at the facts.

  • lyn

    says:

    Perhaps the point is simple. Do you want a sharp minded, president or not? If you have the choice between a nice ripe, juicy peach or a bruised, mushy, past it’s prime peach. Which will you choose?

    We need a President, not a resident on Pennsylvania Avenue. I’m grateful that we live in a nation where there is so much coverage that making the distinction between competent and incompetent is possible. I’m frustrated that even though people have unlimited access to media coverage, many still fall victim to catch phrase politics – or worse yet fail to change the dial for another angle from time to time.

    McCain’s true problem right now is that in his new role as party leader, he is being forced to play the political game by the Republican Party rules under the guise of uniting the party. Unfortunately (for him), he’s just no good at repeating the clever little lines his advisors are providing for him and he comes off looking like an angry, “old, white haired dude”.

    It’s too bad. I don’t think McCain is such a bad guy. But it is clear that he is more than willing to succumb to whatever party pressures are put on him in order to win the election. That puts his credibility in the crapper.

    Ultimately, we end up with the president we deserve. So VOTE people, VOTE!