For some, Republican John McCain is 'too old'

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-14 16:57

"People in old age are fully capable of imaginative and skillful work," Thomas added. "A person's age is not a block to doing fantastic work."

Although US life expectancy at birth is about 78 years, a person who reaches 70 can expect to live another 15 years. For a seventy-something president, that could work out to two terms in office, plus time for writing memoirs_and cashing in on book sales.

But differences among people in their seventies can be stark, because some have already started into a steep decline.

Dr. David Reuben, chief of geriatrics at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, said he sees no outward evidence of such a problem with McCain, despite the occasional gaffe.

"As a clinician, I look at whether they appear to be robust, whether their sentences flow, whether their thoughts connect, whether they are easily distractible," said Reuben. "McCain appears to be quite robust."

The main medical concern about McCain is not his age, but his history of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. If McCain is elected, Americans would have to get used to the idea of their president as a cancer survivor, closely followed by doctors for any sign of a recurrence.

But Reuben said there's very little difference in clinical terms between McCain's age and Ronald Reagan's, who turned 70 soon after he was sworn in for his first term. Reagan managed to avoid the "old" label by often riding horses and clearing brush on his ranch in California. But could seem to be forgetful at times. In Iran-Contra testimony in 1990, a year after leaving office, he couldn't remember that Gen. John W. Vessey served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for three years in his administration.

Reagan's Alzheimer's diagnosis came later, nearly six years after leaving the White House.

McCain has embraced what he calls his own "oldness." He jokes that he's older than dirt and has more scars than Frankenstein, but he's learned some useful things along the way. That seems to put many voters at ease. In the AP-Yahoo News poll, 58 percent said the term "too old" doesn't describe McCain at all well, or only slightly.

"I figure he's a very experienced man," said Robert Covarrubias, 38, a trucking company manager from Los Angeles, and a Republican. "We've had presidents who were up there in age before."

Mindful that it could backfire on them, Democrats have mostly broached the age issue indirectly, by trying to link McCain to festering problems that Washington hasn't resolved. That may resonate with some voters.

"Not only age wise is (McCain) old, but he has also been a politician for a long time," said Aaron Andrus, 28, a software developer from Salt Lake City, who is not affiliated with either party. "I don't see how what he would do would be any different from what has been done time and time again, and has brought our country to the point where we are today."

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