My Dad is the same age as McCain--- and he kind of acts like McCain

[trumad]

in his mannerisms. Don't get me wrong, my Dad is a staunch Democrat--- but I can see how age is diminishing his once sharp mind. That's OK--- I know it's a normal part of life---you get old, you lose that sharpness in your physical and mental being........

Point is--- it gets worse, not better.... Think about it---if McCain wins 2 terms, the dude will be a year shy of 80.

[madaboutharry]

1. My mom is in her 70's and she

admits to having too many "senior moments." She and her friends cringe at the thought of McCain in the White House. She and her friends admit that you're just not as sharp. She has a very active mind, but she sometimes stops and searches in mid-sentence.

[enough]

8. I heard some NPR commentator say that the elderly will all vote for McCain.

I think this is dead wrong. Most of the elderly are well aware of the decline in mental power. It doesn't mean there's no wisdom, but it does mean you can't always think on your feet and react to new input. I say this having just turned 64 and watched my own parents decline. It's great to have a young person -- incredibly smart, energetic, and dedicated -- who's willing to take the helm.

Also, I think McCain seems less together mentally and physically than many other people his age. He's actually an "old" 71.

[nancyr]

10. No we won't!

I don't know anyone who is considered elderly who would consider voting for him. We all know from personal experience that our minds and reflexes are not as sharp as they once were. McCain seems even more dazed and confused than the average old coot. He is just plain alarming, and I would think most of us can readily see this. NPR commentators are not mind readers. Most of my friends are Obama supporters. We detest being put into categories by people who are clueless about how normal people actually think or feel.

[spartan61]

12. Unfortunately, I do know of one elderly gentleman who will be

voting for McCain. The reason he is going to vote for Mac is because, he, too, was a POW but in WWII, not VietNam. I can think of so many better reasons to vote for Obama!

[no_hypocrisy]

2. My dad acts like he's John McCain's father. And the worst part he was like this at 40.

[izzie]

3. I am the same age and I go alone with you.

I also have hardly one thing wrong with my heath in all those years, take no pills etc but I find I have showed down my life just because it goes along with what I can do with ease. For one thing I gave up driving. After driving for over 50 years I did not feel I should be out on the road. I just felt I was not as fast in my thinking and I was so bored with driving. And on top of that I felt I could give in to my age on it. I can not be the only person who thinks like this, I am sure. I think we give into what we want at this age, and feel it is our due.

[Smarmie Doofus]

4. It's less his age that bothers me.

I'm not sure he's especially bright. It takes a a special kind of guy to finish 892 out of 897 in the Naval Academy... particularly when your dad is one of the highest ranking naval officers in the US. ( One would guess that dad's status would encourage... shall we say... generosity in grading among the teaching staff there; or perhaps not.)

I'd like to heve seen how well he was functioning during the 2000 campaign. Wasn't paying too much attention to their race as we had lot going on on our side.

[madaboutharry]

7. "It takes a special kind of guy to finish

892 out of 897"

I agree. The kind of guy like say, George Bush, who graduated Yale with a C average in the middle of the Viet Nam War when college professors were giving out A's like Halloween candy.

I have several friends who, although much younger, went to Ivy League universities and still benefited from the grade inflation that began in the 60's. They have always told me that a C is a crappy grade at Yale or Harvard. You got a C for breathing.

[BeyondGeography]

5. McCain has flirted with saying he'd only be a one-termer

but he has backed off from that:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/mccain-a-one-term-president/

[frogcycle]

6. I watched both parents age

early 70's they were fine - slower, perhaps, due to a few aches and pains, but mentally acute (well, as much as they ever had been)

but by 75, they were just plain over their heads in dealing with things beyond the day-to-day. Mother became ill, and they didn't deal with it. We offspring had to "intervene" - take charge - start making decisions for them. We discovered (none of us lived nearby) that the stress of dealing with these scary unknowns had driven both into childlike states. Dad couldn't find his way to the hospital, could not name the streets - was just in a fog.

After mother died, dad relocated (well, we facilitated that) and I was the "primary caregiver" until he died six years later. That fog lifted - removing the overwhelming stress of responsibility and fear enabled him to relax some, and he sharpened up. But in no way would I have said he was back in shape to go under fire again.

I spent a lot of time with him and his cronies in a senior apartment building. Sure there are plenty of people over 70 with all sorts of mental skills and plenty of energy. But it is kind of like people completing a marathon. They are still going strong, but will be running out of gas at any moment.

If McCain were to get the Oval Office, there is no question in my mind that he would be a puppet. He is the empty shell the cabal has selected to do its bidding. It is already obvious. He parrots the most ludicrous far-right positions, which he scoffed at just a few years ago. He has been told he finally gets to be the nominee, might get to be pres if he does as he's told, and is dutifully shuffling along following orders.

[Warpy]

9. My dad was as sharp as they come at 89

and only started to lose it the last couple of days of his final illness. I'd brought him his mail every day at rehab and carried out his instructions for three weeks, learning as I went. He never lost his brilliance, just his interest when it was time.

We fall apart on our own schedules. I've known people well into the process in their 50s and I've known centenarians (my ex granny in law) who were bright as a brass button well over 100.

However, McCain is showing early signs of dementia. He's not the same man he was in 2008 when Stupid attacked his military career, his family and his honor. Eight years ago, he was a force to be reckoned with, sharp but utterly wrongheaded. Today, he's a querulous old man.

He missed his time and it's sad.

[L. Coyote]

11. What are the side effects of his medications?

That is more troubling than age per se!!