The Associated Press questions whether Arizona Sen. John McCain's age will become an issue in the race for the Republican presidential nomination - and by doing so makes it an issue. Here's part of the AP story, followed by my thoughts on the "age issue" ...
John McCain, 70 and scarred, cannot deny his age. So he jokes about it. "I'm older than dirt, more scars than Frankenstein, but I learned a few things along the way," quips the Republican presidential candidate, who tries to play down the ravages of time for the wisdom acquired over seven decades.
Despite McCain's high-energy lifestyle, getting older begets questions about health. The four-term Arizona senator no doubt will have to prove to voters that he is physically and mentally up to the demanding job of president.
For now, the issues are only background murmurs in the 2008 race for the GOP nomination. Neither Rudy Giuliani, the 63-year-old former New York City mayor who also is a cancer survivor, nor former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a diet-and-exercise fanatic who just turned 60, has mentioned them publicly.Still, an aging candidate troubles some voters. Two recent surveys found that people are less likely to vote for a presidential candidate who is older than 72 than they would a candidate who has been divorced twice and a candidate who is Mormon. Giuliani is on his third marriage; Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Like it or not, McCain's going to have to deal with the question, and there's very little he can do about it. His age is his age. He's going to have to find a way to turn his age from a potential liability to an asset the way Ronald Reagan did with his famed quip in that debate with the hapless Walter Mondale. Stealing Reagan's line won't work, however, it'll need to be something original.
Here's a suggestion for Sen. McCain: Invite all of the Republicans running for the presidential nomination to join you on a rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon, and invite the media to come along. Heck, invite CBS to film it for a two-hour "reality" special.
Whatever you do, McCain, don't whine about the question. It makes you seem both old and cranky. Reagan proved you can be old and win the presidency. But Reagan wasn't cranky - the man cracked jokes after he got shot. So if -when - they ask you about your age and your health, say something like this: "70 isn't old in America anymore, and cancer isn't a death sentence anymore, either. So if I can get the votes of all the folks over 70 and all the cancer survivors I'll win the nomination and the White House in a landslide."
He would, too.
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