Young Voters Say McCain’s Age is No Big Deal
Running for president is “no old man’s job” says Hilary supporter and PA congressman Jack Murtha (D). He grumbled to a union audience gathered in Washington, DC: “This one guy running is about as old as me”. (McCain is four years younger.) Murtha also said that running is too much stress for a man McCain’s age. Well, tell that to young voters who, believe it or not, disagree with 75 year old congressman Murtha.
While covering the youth vote for Fox News I’ve asked dozens of young voters (R’s, D’s and I’s) all across the country about McCain’s age. Every single young voter has told me that McCain’s age doesn’t matter. I was stunned because this defies conventional wisdom, especially since many young voters are backing the youthful Obama.
Twenty-one year old Columbia University student Allison Yang told me, “With health care being so great and the life expectancy being so long, I don’t think young voters are as concerned with having older politicians.”
Fellow student Bradley Blackburn said, “Our grandparents are living well into their 80’s and 90’s so why can’t someone who is mentally sharp and physically strong into their 70’s be elected?”
Alison continued, “His daughter is our age, so he doesn’t strike us as being old.” Alison was referring to McCain’s 23 year old Meghan who has been traveling with her dad for nine months and blogging about the experience. www.mccainblogette.com
This leads me to believe that Congressman Murtha must’ve been auditioning for “Grumpy Old Men part 3.” McCain’s camp responded, calling Murtha’s words “nonsense attacks.”
I’m an elder and I prefer McCain to win because I firmly believe age matters. If I were still young, I would prefer an older president, such as McCain, because wisdom and experience are great assets for our country. Further, I do not believe McCain is a spin doctor — a great asset in his favor.
To me, gender and/or skin color are irrelevant issues: I am female and I am a descendant of two races. Although I am a registered Republican, I would switch my political party and cast my vote for a Democrat if I believed he or she were qualified to be president.
My vote goes to Senator McCain.