Ageism and McCain's Senescence
But are not concerns about McCain's cognitive health valid, whether disease- or age-related? Isn't it about McCain himself, rather than his general age group?
McCain has indeed lost a noticeable amount of mental acuity over the last four years. I became convinced of that recently.
No, not because of his mandatory-voluntary emissions-cap gaffe. He could slip that noose with something like, "No, caps are not mandatory. If you buy carbon credits, you can exceed the cap." The MSM wouldn't blink an eye.
Rather, it was the social-security bamboozlement video that Josh put together for TPMtv. It contrasted McCain's current repudiation of SS privatization with his 2004 boosterism for exactly that.
Take a look at McCain's 2004 performance. The clip occurs about 3:35 into the vid.
Doesn't McCain seem hugely more animated, alert, and mentally sharp than he does today?
I didn't form this conjecture and go looking for evidence. It caught me by surprise. The degree of difference between the McCains of four years ago and today is so striking that it kinda jolted me.
If you see it the same way as I did, you might wonder if McCain's senescence could really become an issue. One factor to consider is the the strength of the P-C strictures that rule in many places. (Others might phrase that less cynically.)
I'm inclined to recall the NY Senate race of 1980. Alfonse D'Amato beat incumbent Jacob Javits in the Republican primary, due in large measure to Javits's affliction with Lou Gherig's disease -- a neurological disease that severely compromises cognitive function. (Javits ran anyway on the Liberal Party line and split the liberal vote with Democrat Liz Holtzman, handing Senator Pothole the plurality win.)
Now, Javits's impairment was much greater than McCain's current rash of senior moments. But it is a relevant precedent.
Dunno how all this is gonna play out. (Duh!) I think I'll keep watching.
I was very surprised that the MSM viewed him as being in "excellent health" but as a nurse I see many of his excellent health complications as problematic.
He has Stage II melanoma, which means with treatment, Stage II melanoma is considered intermediate- to high-risk for local recurrence or distant metastasis (spreading). FYI: Stage III could be fatal at his age.
He has serious arthritis and may need a joint replacement. Joint replacement carries high risk for infection, blood clots, and general anesthesia.
He’s had benign polyps removed from his colon twice. Polyps that are left behind can develop into cancer over time.
He has dizzy spells and vertigo. Persistent, unrelieved vertigo or dizziness can, of course, interfere with his work, his lifestyle, and, of course, walking. It can also cause falls which can in turn lead to serious big bone fractures, i.e hip--remember, he has degenerative joint disease.
He was treated for a very enlarged prostate. Recurrence is common and if the enlarged prostate restricts the flow of urine through the urethra, urinary retention may cause kidney damage.
He underwent cataract surgery. 60-70% of people his age have cataracts.
He takes medication (lip-lowering statins) for high cholesterol. Keep an eye on his heart.
He had early stage squamous cell cancer this year. Not as dangerous as melanoma and rarely spreads but can spread to blood, bones, etc.
He has an unremarkable buttocks. No shit.
And worst of all, his political views suck.
June 28, 2008 9:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hoo, boy. I had no idea he had so many feet in the grave. I thought they were all in his mouth.
All the more reason to take his veep selection very seriously. Unless, of course, you think he has virtually no chance in November. (That's my guess, but it's just a guess.)
An op-ed piece in today's (2008-06-28 Sat) NY Times cites a recent Quinnipiac poll:
I've gotta think this will become more of an issue as the general election draws nearer.
June 28, 2008 10:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Right, the VEEP is important. This Bobby Jindal guy says that Katrina didn't cause any oil spills, and wants creationism taught in Louisiana schools. Whew! Could it get any worse?
Yes! McCain just recently said that he would come from behind in the last 48 hours in November and beat Obama. This doesn't seem like haughtiness to me. I fear that Diebold will once again deliver the election and he knows the fix is in.
Is anyone else scared about that?
Re your comment about him seeing more vital 4 years ago, I thought he looked just as bad then, frankly. But did you notice that when he went to answer the question he made her repeat it and then looked aside as if to get the answer from someone? And all that blinking! That is a sign of lying. He does it all the time.
Tonalli: Loved your post, but what is the point about his buttocks? I'm a nurse too, but don't know the significance in terms of health. If you're saying that a small butt = bad health, then that is good news for most of America!
June 28, 2008 12:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am very afraid of diebold.
August 28, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent points, John.
To me it doesn't matter what the causes are for a presidential candidate's poor cognition.
Personality and political views aside, mental acuity is a key attribute in a president. [We've seen the results of its absence.] It's important to have a good memory, see patterns and have information readily accessible.
June 28, 2008 10:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
I agree jzap, there's a BIG difference between the McCain of 2000 and the McCain of today. He really doesn't look well and obviously has trouble thinking on his feet. I have a feeling it will only get worse and the camaign drags on. I don't think it's ageist to point out the man is not well.
On another note, ALS (Lou Gherig's disease) does not affect cognitive function. I realize you were citing someone else's claim from a different election, but I don't like to see misinformation go unchallenged. ALS is a neurological disease, but it affects the signals between the brain and muscles. The end result is a body completely unable to move, like a block of wood, but with the mind clear and aware. That's the horror of it.
June 28, 2008 10:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
John McCain just isn't very bright. He finished about 4th from the bottom of his class at Annapolis. Lots of people say it was just disinterest or his rebelliousness as a kid. Maybe, but that doesn't mean he's ever been a quick study.
His depth of knowledge on a lot subjects is just superficial. You can see it anytime he opens his mouth. Like a shallow well being pumped dry after awhile you realize there's nothing left down there to plumb.
Couple that with the firing of a lot of his first string advisors who were there to put the words in his mouth and replacement with the B-team who he either ignores or don't have the chops to make him sound good and it's no wonder he sounds dumber than Reagan circa 1988.
If you want and older, crazier, creepier Bush McCain is your man.
June 28, 2008 11:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
m8,
You took the words right out of my mouth...which I think you've done in the past as well.
I agree totally with your point that the simple fact is that McCain is not very smart, is a poor extemporaneous speaker (the MSM's deigning him the Master of Town Hall meetings, notwithstanding) and is even worse an orator when he delivers a scripted speech.
He has not gone from being a re-incarnation of JFK 8 years ago to being what he is today, regarding ideas and expressing them in language. He is what he has always bee, only older; and his performances are subject to much closer scrutiny than in the past.
Any 71-year-old candidate is going to be stuck with the issue of his or her physical and mental health more so than a 46-year-old candidate. It's not "ageism" per se, it's common sense.
FB
June 28, 2008 4:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
In defense of the old man, I think he actually is pretty smart. I remember reading somewhere that, going by IQ, he'd be one of the smartest presidents in modern times. IQ tests don't necessarily tell the whole story, I know, but then neither do grades. I'd anyone to judge my intelligence by the marks I got in middle school or high school or, to a lesser extent, college. Remember also that Kerry, who is by any rational standards way the hell smarter than Bush, got comparably middling grades while at Yale. I think that McCain is slowing down, has poor judgment, and shows no interest in the vast majority of domestic policy. But stupid? No-- it would be a mistake to underestimate him on that front.
June 28, 2008 6:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I'd *hate* anyone to judge my intelligence by the marks I got," I mean. Whoops. Feel free to judge my intelligence by that omission, though.
June 28, 2008 6:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can you name one smart thing he has done, and actually followed through on? One paragraph of inciteful rhetoric?
There's smart and then there's smart. I don't know where you heard about the IQ thing, but he got low grades in school and I haven't seen or heard anything intelligent from him.
I think Bill Clinton might have him beat in the IQ and also the rhetoric and actions department.
June 28, 2008 6:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the correction. It was, at the time, perceived that his cognitive funciton had deteriorated. But the MSM never was very good at, as they say, doing nuance. And Javits did seem to have lost a lot of his energy and eloquence. So maybe it wasn't ALS or maybe something else was going on, too? Dunno.
Yes, I did some googling to refresh my memory, but a lot of it is first-hand. (I was a 30-year-old NY resident at the time.) But it looks like I put the pieces together a bit crookedly.
Thanks again for helping with the facts.
June 28, 2008 11:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oops. I meant the above comment as a reply to KZ up-thread.
June 28, 2008 11:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
Interestingly, old people are a lot more sensitive to this kind of stuff than those who are younger. They are acutely aware of the potential difference between someone who's 60 - 65 and someone who's 70 - 75, and even more acutely aware of how abruptly and steeply the mental acuity and physical health of someone over 70 can decline. It's one of the central facts, fears and sorrows of their lives. One friend is fine well into her 90s, another went from the picture of health to a nursing home in her early 70s.
It will be interesting to see how that all plays out in the 65+ demographic. On one hand, people over 70 can't get over thinking of people in their forties--people who are, after all, younger than many of their children, as being barely out of their teens and with little better judgment. On the other, they have to look at McCain and think of all of the people they know who went from dancing the night away and travelling around the world to assisted living facilities in a matter of eight or nine months.
As the Supreme Court noted in several of its age discrimination opinions, aging is something we all face and it brings on real differences in ability (of course, they always assign those to their oldest members to write).
June 28, 2008 12:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ack!
Nooo... not mee!!! I is gonna live forever! Sez here rite in my horrorscope.
BTW, way hella cool post bout dem sheeps. Jus be wary of dem black-sheep avatards!
June 28, 2008 2:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I do think that we have to be careful here regarding ageism. While it is true that people can suddenly decline, the odds are that most of those in good health won't. But the question being raised about McCain is legitimate if it is clear that there already appears to be something of a decline, which may be health related. (Btw, I believe that Clinton is not the person he was 10 years ago, and he is just sixty or so. My suspicion is that his health problems are greater than they have let on or that his psychological problems have gotten worse.)
But all of this may be moot with regard to McCain. The real problem, as fans of BSG may already know, is that McCain may be a damaged Cylon.
"The Twelfth Cylon Revealed"
http://msa4.wordpress.com/
June 28, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
It isn't age discrimination when someone exhibits profound geriatric symptoms as McCain does. Ask any lowly attendent in a nursing home and they will identify a few early similarities for you. It is a fact that McCain is showing signs of age that impair his ability to concentrate, retain and think on his feet. He is too old and it has nothing to do with his chronilogical age. It is his efffective age that is the problem.
June 28, 2008 2:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ageism is enshrined in the Constitution. One must be 18 to vote, 25 to be a Representative, 30 to be a Senator and 35 to be President. Unless one advocates eliminating all of these age restrictions, then one accepts ageism as legitimate. If that is the case, then we are merely arguing the parameters of acceptable ageism, we are not opposing it.
June 28, 2008 6:12 PM | Reply | Permalink