Campaign season moratorium on old jokes

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I wish I had been a little quicker to go on Internet record against apparent sexism in some coverage of Hilary Clinton, quite apart from my being thrilled she is not candidate for president anymore, and I hope this is both respectably early in John McCain's bid for the presidency, that it won't continue to be an issue, and that .

Every cartoonist, every comedian, every professional and amateur commentator who makes a joke about McCain being old or raises it as an issue cheapens themselves, sets back the cause of equal respect for all regardless of age, is not funny and does not make a point.

Age is not fair game, age is not relevant and claims to the contrary are almost entirely phony concerns, a line of attack taken for convenience and not principle.

Can it, people.

Needless to say, youth, sex, color, sexual orientation, religion or lack thereof, or anything else that's not about doing a job is no way to choose who will be president or waiter.

Anybody can die or become incapacitated at any time. If that makes any point, it is the insanity of giving anyone as much power as the president has, even before the past 8 years of consolidating control in the executive branch.

Comments

Expanded on the sentiment over at Narco News' The Field

In the comment On the 72 candles.

Hillary Clinton's sex, Barack Obama's race, or John McCain's age should never be an issue in the campaign.

Approach to foreign policy, preserving constitutional rights, in favor or opposed to economic unfairness, whether someone is a power-hungry nutcase— those are issues. When, what color, or what parts someone is born with are not.

And Saul Alinsky would probably dismiss my moral arguments, but come to the same conclusion on simply pragmatic grounds. Compared to his obequious squandering of the the maverick reputation in the eight years since the Bush Rove machine race-baited him out of the primary, McCain's age is his strong suit.