is attacking mccain because of his age fair? i think there's a general sense that attacking barak obama because of his race and hillary clinton because of her sex isn't fair. that's why the supporters of each campaign keep trading accusations that the other campaign is using racist or sexist tactics, language, dog whistles, et cetera. whatever the merits of the charges and counter-charges the fact that they are made at all and so often is a testament to the fact that attacks based on race or sex are deemed to be out of bounds.should age out of bounds too? like sex and race, age is a characteristic outside the control of the candidate, so there's a sense it shouldn't be held against him. on the other hand, we're all going to get old, at least if we're lucky enough to live that long. unlike being black or being female, age (at least in terms of years) can hit everyone equally. mccain had his chance to run for president when he was younger. in fact, he did and lost. does that fact bring age back into bounds?
you can also argue that age is really a proxy for other relevant things, like mental acuity and the odds of living to the end of the presidential term. but by the same token, sex and race could be proxies for electability, a factor that a lot of people think is relevant in the primary race. nevertheless, overt sex-based or race-based appeals are still viewed as wrong.
i think it's inevitable that age will be a factor, just as i think race will be a factor in the general election with obama as the nominee (just as sex would be a factor if clinton beat my expectations at this point and finds a way to clinch it). the issue is not whether it will be a factor, but more whether it will be deemed appropriate to talk about directly. does anyone have any thoughts?
(image via susie through facebook)
