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Does McCain Need A Cane?

Yet another report of how the Arizona Senator’s advanced age may be damaging his bid for the White House.  His age might make him seem like the tired old Washingtonian that he is rather than the fresh-faced reformer and do-gooder his adoring fans in the media have made him out to be.  Nowadays, 70 is […]

Yet another report of how the Arizona Senator’s advanced age may be damaging his bid for the White House.  His age might make him seem like the tired old Washingtonian that he is rather than the fresh-faced reformer and do-gooder his adoring fans in the media have made him out to be.  Nowadays, 70 is old, but it isn’t that old, so it isn’t so much a question of age as it is of giving the appearance of being a washed-up has-been.  The other danger of being an older politician is simply the danger of being boring and putting even your most likely supporters to sleep with speeches that don’t accomplish very much.  Besides, if he is looking ragged and worn out now, what will he look like in two years after a full campaign schedule in a highly competitive presidential race?  More to the point, does his age create enough doubt about his candidacy that it prevents him from building up the irresistible momentum that the last anointed GOP front-runner gained almost effortlessly in 1999?

It will also make his choice for VP immensely important in the unlikely event that he wins the nomination.  In this implausible scenario, it would not be a concern that McCain’s running mate would have to take over if he were to die in office, as I don’t think anyone believes McCain to be in particularly poor health.  But, if he did become the nominee and made a questionable choice for VP by bringing in a Quayle-like figure to bring youth and energy to the ticket, his chance of success in the general would diminish considerably.  If he were to suffer from some malady and the VP were unusually pathetic and Charles Logan-ish, we might also be put in some absurd situation as happened under Wilson when the VP, Thomas Marshall of Indiana, refused to assume the duties of the Presidency after Wilson’s stroke because he feared it would appear to be a coup.  Instead he allowed Wilson’s wife to run the executive branch.  Presumably this sort of thing would not be tolerated today, but it underlines just how important the VP selection would be in his case.

As for another oft-mentioned front-runner, Giuliani is 62, which isn’t so terribly old, but he has had, as we all know, serious health problems in the past that could recur.  The VP slot on a Giuliani-led ticket would similarly be extremely significant.

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