This has to be a very short and quick one as I have to rush to work, but I thought I should raise it so that Kossacks can decide it once and for all, hopefully. Is Senator McCain's age a legitimate issue to call him out on this election year? Do we gain from making a big issue of it or bringing it up as a talking point, or do we make a big mistake that is not only legally indefensible but also distracts from the real issues and makes us look bad. Your opinion on this one is desperately called for.
Yes, he sets out to say one thing but then says another. He can't remember what he is: a radical liberal or a liberal radical or a conservative radical liberal. He holds the microphone the wrong one and speaks into the tail of it, and while at West Forest University, he say's he's grateful for being in West Virginia. He can't tell Shia from Sunni and remembers nothing about the economy.
There is no doubt that Senator McCain, as the oldest citizen in our history to contest the office of the President, is taking us all on uncharted territory. And if one may so, there is no doubt either that the years are taking a toll on him as he prepares himself for one of the most taxing and gruelling jobs in the world, one that requires unusual mental agility, a sound memory and judgment, and, of course, a clean bill of health, also.
However, not only do the constitutional requirements for running for POTUS allow for citizens of Senator McCain's age to contest for office--and mind you they bring with them a wealth of experience--there are constitutional ammendments that also make it wrongful to discriminate against any citizen on the strength of their age. Sounds like this makes it far from "legitimate" to make an issue, even if we have a right to "discuss" it privately or raise concerns around it. Constitutional scholars and lawyers here can better enlighten us.
But even more importantly, given that there are numerous policy issues on which we can roundly defeat Senator McCain in this election: his position on tax cuts, his position on the war, his apparent lack of knowledge on the economy, his scandalous past with special interests, his commitment to roll back critical constitutional protections in order to satisfy his newly-found conservative base, wouldn't it be more effective that we confront him on these issues?
Would discussing McCain's age instead of these issues not be a distraction that we can ill afford?
Would it not also signal return to the politics of the past that our presumptive nominee has vowed to take the nation away from this year?
Would discussing Senator McCain's age instead of his policy and character failings not give him and his base an unnecessary high ground when they have none, and at the same time make us look bad.
Yes, we understand. But do we have to go there and make it a talking point. Will it serve us well to rest this fight on it? Please weigh in.
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