Age-Old Question

Taking offense has become a political art form.

At times it seems that our politicians are such delicate flowers that they wilt at the slightest rhetorical breeze from the other side. How heartless the opponents must be to offend their fragile sensibilities.

What's really happening, of course, is that there's a lot of mock outrage out there as each side tries to cast itself as the victim of unfair attacks--and, in the process, get its adversaries to tone it down.

The latest shadowboxing is taking place over John McCain's age. He is, in fact, 71. You could look it up. I've watched him work long days on the trail, so for me it's hardly a major problem. But there's no doubt it's an issue. In fact, 40 percent in a WashPost poll say age is a very or somewhat important factor in their vote, compared to 23 percent who say that about race.

It was a problem for Bob Dole (who was a couple of years older) in 1996. People instinctively question whether you're up to the job. And McCain looks his age, in part because of his bout with skin cancer and because of the injuries he suffered as a POW.

I happen to think the more salient issue is the clash of generations, the stark difference in outlook between McCain (born in 1936) and Barack Obama (born in 1961). McCain fought in Vietnam, while Obama was just a grade-schooler during the sixties.

The latest flare-up took place when John Kerry called McCain "confused" on foreign policy and Mac's camp cried foul. (Keep in mind that the two vets are friends and Kerry tried to enlist McCain as his running mate, so I don't think the Massachusetts senator was sending signals about senility.) But the incident may have forced the Obama team to watch its language--precisely what the McCainiacs would like.

Politico is the latest to tackle this burning question:

"As some Republicans see it, Democrats are deliberately talking in code about the presumptive 71-year-old GOP nominee as part of an attempt to highlight his age.

" 'It is code; there is no question it is,' Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist who helped lead President Ronald Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign, said when age surfaced as an issue. 'They are trying to raise doubts.'

"MSNBC host Joe Scarborough repeatedly argued on his show last week that the Obama campaign was portraying McCain as a 'doddering, old, confused fool. He needs to go to Miami Beach and play checkers.'

"To Democrats, however, Republicans are imagining slights and smears where there are none as part of an attempt to silence any discussion of McCain's vigor. . . . "The issue is no small matter for McCain. Polls in recent months found voters more likely to take into consideration his age than Obama's race, which explains why the McCain campaign has turned into ersatz word police, calling foul on even the slightest hint of a reference to the Republican's age."