147

Today marks 147 days until John McCain turns 72 years old.

To give you an idea of how old he is, when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, both MLK and McCain were in their 30s. McCain was just 7 years younger than MLK.

The Energy Crisis

Energy, along with health care, is going to be one of the two biggest challenges we face in the coming decades. Oil is running out, the planet is warming up, and gasoline prices will only worsen with time.

Biofuels like ethanol and methanol are a good stop-gap measure to help us wean ourselves away from oil. Aerospace engineer Robert Zubrin has written an excellent book on this subject, titled Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil.

Here is the crux of Zubrin's plan:

What is needed is government action to break the vertical monopoly on the automobile fuel supply currently held by the petroleum cartel. This could most efficiently be done simply by mandating that all new cars—whether of foreign or domestic manufacture—sold in the United States be “flex-fueled.” Such cars, which can run on any mixture of alcohol or gasoline, are currently being produced in the United States for little more (typically an extra $100 to $200) than the same vehicles in non-flex-fueled form. But they only command about 3 percent of the market, because there are so few high-alcohol gas pumps to serve them. Conversely, the reason why there are few high-alcohol pumps is because there are not enough flex-fuel cars on the road to warrant them. If you own a fuel station with three pumps, you are not going to waste one distributing a type of fuel that only 3 percent of cars can use.

Yet within three years of a flex-fuel mandate, there would be at least 50 million cars on the road in the United States capable of using high-alcohol fuel, and at least an equal number overseas. This would be a sufficient market to create a widespread network of high-alcohol fuel pumps. Moreover, this dramatically increased demand for alcohol fuels would greatly exceed the supply capacity of American corn-ethanol producers, which means that we could drop our current tariffs against Latin American sugar-ethanol. A similar circumstance would pertain in Europe and Japan, enabling the elimination of their protectionist measures against Third World agricultural imports. This would solve the problem of trade barriers against farm products that scuttled the recent Doha round of international trade talks, thus benefiting rich and poor nations alike.

By simply exposing the oil cartel to competition from such alternative fuel sources, we could impose a powerful constraint on its ability to run up prices. Combined with an unrelenting tariff policy favoring alcohol over imported oil, we could destroy OPEC completely, and effectively redirect over $600 billion per year that is now going to the treasury of terrorism to the global agricultural and mining sectors. Instead of sending our money to the Islamists to spread fanatical ideology, we could give our business to the world’s farmers, coal miners, and other people who actually work for a living. Instead of selling off blocks of stock in Western media companies to Saudi princes, we could be selling tractors to Honduras. Instead of funding terrorism, we could be using our energy dollars to finance world development. That’s what a serious energy policy would look like.

But as we know, biofuels are not carbon-neutral. They require land use, they require processing and refinement, and they emit some greenhouse gases when burned. That said, breaking the back of OPEC and providing us with energy independence would be a great start.

In the long run, we need to find renewable energy sources that don't have the drawbacks of biofuels. Nuclear energy comes with fear of meltdown and radioactive waste. Hydrogen power is decades away, perhaps longer. Cold fusion is a century away.

While perusing the internet, I noticed that there is already a very viable solution just waiting for us. And before you assume that this is from some loopy pie-in-the-sky enviro group, note that this information is from our very own Department of Energy:

Q: Do concentrating solar power (CSP) plants require a lot of land? How much, exactly?

A: Relatively speaking, no. Consider Hoover Dam, for example. Nevada's Lake Mead, which is home to the dam, covers nearly 250 square miles. In contrast, a CSP system occupying only 10 to 20 square miles could generate as much power annually as Hoover Dam did in one recent year. And if we take into consideration the amount of land required for mining, CSP plants also require less land than coal-fired power plants do.

It's hard to say exactly how much land is required for a CSP plant, however, because this depends on its generating capacity and the particular technology used. For example, a 250-kilowatt plant composed of ten 25-kilowatt dish/engine systems requires less than an acre of land. And a parabolic trough system uses about 5 acres for each megawatt of installed capacity. But in any case, the solar resource needed to generate power using CSP systems is quite plentiful. Imagine being able to generate enough electric power for the entire country by covering about 9 percent of Nevada — a plot of land 100 miles on a side — with parabolic trough systems!

Don't expect Republicans, particularly somebody as old and out of the loop as John McCain, to grasp onto this. Even the Democrats will need some pushing in the right direction. But if America is going to take back control of its own destiny, and save us from environmental disaster, it has to start implementing these solutions.

Bush's Terrible Jobs Record

Old coot McCain, as we all know, is running for Bush's third term. Same foreign policy, same economic policy. For some reason folks think that because Republicans tailor their policies to rich Americans and rich corporations, that somehow they are "better" on the economy.

But look at this nifty chart from Paul Krugman. Who seems to have a better record of creating jobs?


It doesn't look to me like cutting taxes for the rich, amassing huge budget deficits, and stifling investment in science is such a great job-creator. Bush has created less than one-fourth of the jobs that Bill Clinton did, and that number looks to be on the downswing as the second* Bush recession kicks in.

*This will be the third "Bush" recession if you count the 1991-93 recession of George H.W. Bush. What a miserable family.

McCain = Bush

John McCain, yesterday: "No one has supported President Bush on Iraq more than I have."

Speechifying

Comparing the convention speeches between these two candidates will be fun.

148

Today marks 148 days until that old coot McCain turns 72.

Today's a busy day for me, so not much posting. Here's some links to check out:

McCain Reveals Total Ignorance About MLK

McCain in 1987: MLK's Death wasn't "meaningful"

McCain's Fundraising Woes: May Have to Accept Public Financing in General Election

Hillary Clinton has finally released her tax returns. When will McCain release his?

And where are his medical records?

McCain Has a Character Problem

As John McCain travels around the country, talking about his high school years at Boy's Town and his military service during the Spanish-American War, you will hear him speak of such lofty ideals as "patriotism", "forgiveness", "loyalty" and "respect".

But let's put this into some context. John McCain is not a nice man. We already know that he has an explosive temper. He has used such terms as "fucking jerk" and "asshole" to refer to his fellow Senators, and he did a pretty good Dick Cheney impersonation last year by screaming "Fuck you!" at a fellow Republican Senator.

So yes -- John McCain is endowed with the same internal rage and hostility that we have come to know and love with Vice President Dick Cheney. Wouldn't those be great qualities to have in a president?


Even when it comes to loyalty, McCain is sorely lacking. His first wife Carol spent five years caring for his children while he was a POW in Vietnam, never giving up hope for his return. But when McCain returned home and saw that she had gained weight, he quickly began sleeping around with other women. In 1980 he divorced Carol, and one month later married one of those mistresses: a wealthy young heiress named Cindy Lou Hensley. A man who cheats on his wife and his family is not loyal. Especially when his wife was loyal to him for the five years he was in Vietnam. (On a side note, you have to be a major hypocrite to commit adultery and then later vote to impeach President Clinton for the same thing).

But it gets worse.

McCain also has a complete lack of class. You'd expect an old man to be wise, respectful, dignified.

But read this joke he told about an 18-year-old girl in 1998, and tell me if this sounds dignified:

"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?
Because her father is Janet Reno."

Think about that: a 62-year-old man making jokes about how ugly a rival politician's teenage daughter is. What if Barack Obama made demeaning jokes about Meghan McCain? Would that make you think less of him? Of course it would.

Such moments reveal character, and McCain has none.

The Big Picture - Foreign Policy

Although John McCain's advanced age is a clear reason not to vote for him, there are many more pressing reasons as to why he would make a terrible President.

On policy, John McCain is almost identical to George W. Bush. If you liked the last eight years of misguided wars, sluggish economic growth, rising gas prices, and growing deficits, then you'll love a McCain administration. For all his talk of being a "maverick", John McCain voted with George W. Bush 89% of the time. Even on the votes where they disagreed, such as the 2001 tax cuts, John McCain now says that Bush was right.

For now, let's discuss one of the two most important issues in this campaign -- Foreign Policy.

During his first ten years in Congress, from 1983 to about 1993, Senator John McCain was rather sensible about the use of military force. He voted against sending troops to Lebanon in 1983, and during the first Gulf War he stated: "If you get involved in a major ground war in the Saudi desert, I think support will erode significantly. Nor should it be supported. We cannot even contemplate, in my view, trading American blood for Iraqi blood". He also supported Bill Clinton's troop withdrawal from Somalia after the Black Hawk Down incident.

But for the past 15 years, McCain's views have shifted radically. He has become a strong advocate of war to solve our problems, no matter the cost in blood or treasure. Remember the Kosovo War in 1999, where our military defeated the Serbs in an air campaign without losing a single American life?  John McCain advocated not only increased bombing, but also the use of ground troops.  As the American Conservative Magazine wrote:

A “massive” bombing campaign would have accomplished little aside from inflicting untold suffering on innocent civilians and incurring the everlasting enmity of the Serbian people—and of decent people everywhere.

Yet McCain was persistent in demanding that the situation called for American “boots on the ground”—a phrase that, if you Google it, you’ll discover what might be called the McCain Panacea. To hear McCain tell it, there is apparently no crisis anywhere in the world that cannot be resolved by the presence of U.S. armed forces.

McCain called for an invasion of Iraq as early as 1998, he has been a top supporter of the current Iraq War, he has no intention of removing troops from Iraq during his administration, and he has already hinted that he looks forward to starting a war with Iran when he becomes Commander-in-Chief.



Clearly, all this talk of McCain being a warmonger is grounded in fact. If a candidate for President states that he is fine with being in Iraq for 100 years, if he sings songs about bombing Iran, if he states that withdrawal is "surrender" in his speeches, if he calls for an increase of 100,000 in our armed forces, then you have a pretty good idea of where he stands.

But it gets worse. John McCain is not just a strong advocate for more war, he is strong advocate for more Bush-style war. Which basically means counter-productive wars that fail to make us safer.

And just like Bush, McCain only becomes dovish and restrained when it comes to wars against real enemies like Osama bin Laden.

Last year, Barack Obama stated that not only would he end the war in Iraq, he would use military force to strike al Qaeda bases in Pakistan. You'd think McCain would support this fully, right?

Wrong:

Providing a potential sneak preview of his general election talking points, [McCain] asked, “Will we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested bombing our ally, Pakistan?” The likely nominee’s comments referenced a counter-terrorism policy speech that [Barack Obama] gave in August in Washington, DC. While lamenting what he perceived as the Bush administration’s misguided war in Iraq and its distraction from al-Qaeda strongholds in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama struck an offensive tone. “Let me make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains, that murdered 3,000 Americans,” he said, continuing with resolve: “If we have actionable intelligence about high-valued terrorist targets and President Musharraf will not act, we will.”

Obama at the time was talking about attacking known al-Qaeda terrorist targets, not suggesting mounting an attack on the country or government of Pakistan.

So let's get this straight -- McCain advocates war against Iraq and Iran, where al Qaeda does not have any bases, but denounces the bombing of Osama bin Laden's camps in Pakistan? This is exactly the same as the current Bush doctrine, which allows real enemies like al Qaeda and North Korea to fester while destroying our armies in reckless wars against trumped-up foes.

Bottom line, if you want smart foreign policy you will vote against John McCain. If you want to prevent a war against Iran you will vote against McCain. And if you want to end the war with Iraq, you must vote against McCain.

It's really that simple.

149

Today marks 149 days until old coot McCain reaches the venerable age of 72.

McCain Is Too Tired For Politics

McCain sleeps during last year's State of the Union address.

I'd probably sleep too, if I had to listen to George W. Bush ramble for an hour. But I'm not a Senator, I'm not a Republican, I'm not someone who campaigned for Bush twice, I'm not someone who is supposed to pay attention to the President's policies on Afghanistan.

Anyone who votes for John McCain is voting for a tired old man who won't get anything done.

Which Face Would You Rather See on TV Every Day?

Be honest.

(McCain image courtesy Flickr user jdlasica)

150

Today marks 150 days until John McCain turns 72 years old.

McCain Will Report You

OK, John McCain has just released a new ad that necessitates complete deconstruction and analysis. Hopefully I'm not the only one who is a bit unnerved by the not-so-subliminal messaging of this new McCain ad. Maybe you'll agree.



On its surface, this is a sappy Hallmark card biographical ad about how McCain learned honor and forgiveness from his high school teacher. Nothing wrong with that, although I'm wondering what all the smoke imagery is about -- was his teacher a chain smoker, or did he burn incense during class, or what?

But let's look at what else this ad says. At one point, the transcript reads as follows:

When one of John McCain's classmates violated the rules and admitted to the infraction, it was John McCain who declared that forgiveness was the best remedy.

Um, isn't this an ad about what the teacher taught McCain? Instead, it sounds like McCain is standing up in class and lecturing the teacher on what the punishment should be. That McCain is the merciful one. Oh bless thee, McCain, great forgiver of sins, even your high school teacher was in awe of your mercy!

It takes quite a bit of chutzpah to turn a commercial praising a mentor into one in which you are praising yourself.

Second, why would McCain be pushing this idea of forgiveness in a campaign ad? It seems odd that he would do so to counter his warmongering image, since we don't expect McCain to turn the other cheek to Al Qaeda or Hezbollah.

Instead, McCain is subtly trying to innoculate himself against his own rule-breaking. Not only is he currently violating FEC campaign spending laws, he is also being hounded by rumors of improper ties to lobbyists.

In addition, McCain himself has a history of breaking rules, begging for forgiveness, and skirting by on his family name. Sorta like another ne'er-do-well President we know so well. Here is a statement from one of McCain's fellow POWs, explaining why he does not support McCain for President:

John was a wild man. He was funny, with a quick wit and he was intelligent. But he was intent on breaking every USNA regulation in our 4 inch thick USNA Regulations book. And I believe he must have come as close to his goal as any midshipman who ever attended the Academy. John had me "coming around" to his room frequently during my plebe year. And on one occasion he took me with him to escape "over the wall" in the dead of night. He had a taxi cab waiting for us that took us to a bar some 7 miles away. John had a few beers, but forbid me to drink (watching out for me I guess) and made me drink cokes. I could tell many other midshipman stories about John that year and he unbelievably managed to graduate though he spent the majority of his first class year on restriction for the stuff he did get caught doing. In fact he barely managed to graduate, standing 5th from the bottom of his 800 man graduating class. I and many others have speculated that the main reason he did graduate was because his father was an Admiral, and also his grandfather, both U.S. Naval Academy graduates.

It sounds like McCain's mentor must have been less effective than this ad is claiming, if McCain was such an undisciplined student right after leaving high school.

But let's get to the really scary part of the ad.

According to the ad, McCain learned four very special rules from his high school teacher. Here they, in a screenshot that repeats the "rules" McCain learned from his wise high school teacher:


"I will report the student who does"???

Maybe I'm just a bit paranoid after 7 years of quasi-authoritarian government under George W. Bush, but this is highly unnerving. Remember, the current administration already taps our phone calls without warrants, they have warned Americans to "watch what they say, watch what they do", they have theorized that the Constitution will be suspended after the next terrorist attack.

And now McCain, Bush's heir apparent, is telling us that ratting out your peers is one of his rules to live by? What kind of leader will McCain be - one who asks Americans to keep an eye on each other and turn each other in?

Even with our low expectations for McCain, this is rather troubling.

Presenting Mr. Foreign Policy Genius

It is a sad day when Joe Lieberman knows more about foreign policy than you do.

McCain:"I'm Older Than Dirt"

He tells the truth for once:

"I'm older than dirt, and I have more scars than Frankenstein" is McCain's stock response to questions about his age.

Do we really want a Precambrian Frankenstein as President?

Ancient History

When John McCain joined the Navy, Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower was still in the middle of his first term.

McCain Has Been Old for a Long Time

Get your mind around this -- John McCain was already a white-haired old man when Ronald Reagan was President.

(Photo by Carol Highsmith)

151

It is now 151 days until Senator John McCain turns 72 years old.

Just to give you an idea of how old he is, consider a few fun facts from history. The previous record holder for oldest man to take office was Ronald Reagan, who was 69 at the time of his swearing-in. Reagan stuck around for two terms, and many suspect he was already in early-stage Alzheimers by the time he left office 8 years later at age 77. He would fall asleep at meetings and didn't know what his own administration was up to regarding such scandals as Iran-Contra.

If McCain stays in office for two terms, he would be 80 years old by the time he leaves office.

Out of our first 41 Presidents, only 11 lived to the age of 80.

Only 15 former Presidents survived to 76.

Of course, 22 of the first 41 Presidents died before reaching the age of 72, so McCain is already in privileged territory.

And none of this takes into account the fact that very old people, like John McCain, are not always the best fit mentally or physically for a job as demanding as the presidency.

McCain Swings and Misses

Can't wait for the debates in the fall.

McCain said Obama "displays a fundamental misunderstanding of history and how we’ve maintained national security, and what we need to do in the future to maintain our security in the face of the transcendent challenge of radical Islamic extremism. And I understand that because he has no experience or background in any of it ... [The American people will] understand over time if they don’t know that he has no experience or background on these issues."

The Obama camp responds:

Barack Obama doesn't need any lectures from John McCain, who has consistently misunderstood American national security and the history of the Middle East in arguing for an invasion and 100-year occupation of a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. Instead of spending trillions of dollars on permanent bases that the Iraqis don't want and that won't keep the American people safe, Barack Obama will end the war in Iraq and finally press Iraq's leaders to take responsibility for their future.

McCain Confused About Foreign Leaders

The real April Fools are the voters who are actually considering voting for this man:

Honesty

We really do have double-standards when it comes to Old Man McCain. The press thinks he is a maverick simply because he deviates from hard right troglodyte conservatism a whopping 17% of the time. They call him a "straight talker" because...well...because he wrote the words "Straight Talk" on his campaign bus.

As a result, McCain is allowed much more leeway than your typical politician. No matter which way he votes, he is still a maverick. Even if he votes with Bush 89% of the time, in his maverick heart he still wishes to break out, to be free, if only Washington would let him. Even when he tells big fat lies about vaccines causing autism, HIV prevention, Sunnis vs. Shiites, or how many lobbyists he has on his campaign -- the press gives him a pass.

And this religious dustup, which was buried by the press almost a year ago, is yet another example.

But imagine for a moment if Obama had behaved like McCain. What if, for years, Obama had claimed to be a member of Trinity United Church of Christ. That his Senate profile labeled him a follower of UCC, and that last month he even mentioned his affiliation to the denomination in interviews. But what if, a month later, when such an association turned out to be damaging to his political aspirations, Obama suddenly declared that he was a Methodist, has been a Methodist for 15 years, and how dare you question his spirituality?

Let's just say the press wouldn't give him a pass on it. And they sure wouldn't call him a Straight Talker as a result.

McCain Confused About His Own Religion

Or maybe it's just rank political posturing.

"Straight Talk" McCain, who for years has claimed to be an Episcopalian, and even listed himself as such in Senate biography pages, suddenly declared at the beginning of this campaign that he's been a Baptist for 15 years.

McCain, as recently as in a June interview with McClatchy newspapers, has consistently described himself as an Episcopalian. He was raised in the denomination and attended the prestigious Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. Biographical sketches in several well-known congressional directories -- information that is usually provided by members of Congress or their staffers -- list McCain’s faith as the Episcopal Church.

But he has now acknowledged that for years he and his family have attended North Phoenix Baptist Church when at home in Arizona. North Phoenix is one of the largest congregations in the Phoenix area.

In the June interview, McCain said that, while his wife and children had been baptized into the Baptist faith, he had not chosen to enter into believer’s baptism. "I didn't find it necessary to do so for my spiritual needs," he said.

The AP reported that McCain indicated in his South Carolina comments he was an “active member” of the North Phoenix church. However, the vast majority of Baptist churches stipulate that in order to attain full membership individuals must have made a public profession of faith followed by baptism by immersion.

By press time for this story, Dan Yeary, the church’s pastor, did not return several telephone and Internet inquiries about McCain’s membership or the church’s baptism policy.

I honestly don't give a damn what religion he follows, but a little bit of consistency and honesty would be nice. Suddenly declaring you are a Baptist during a presidential campaign swing in Baptist-heavy South Carolina sounds to me like typical play-to-the-base pandering.

Of course, McCain shouldn't expect any flak from this religious dustup. Pastor Dan Yeary is a right winger who preaches against abortion and gay rights, so he's right in the mainstream of Republican America. And so far McCain hasn't been called to account for his flip-flopping ways.

"It Was a Good Idea"

McCain Senility Watch

As we've seen many times throughout this campaign, John McCain does not have a strong grip on reality. We are hesitant to ascribe a particular reason for this, but it is becoming increasingly likely that McCain's mental facilities are being ravaged by the cruel hand of time.

Let's face it. Sixty may be the new fifty, but seventy is still seventy. Other than exercise fanatics like Jack LaLanne, you don't see any youthful, energetic, "they look twenty years younger than they are" seventy year olds. Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Maybe your grampa still mixes it up on the basketball court, maybe your grandma runs marathons.

But does this guy look like he runs marathons?


Face it: McCain is old and is starting to show it. Not just in the sagging wrinkles of his face, or his pale corpse-like complexion, but also through his mental slip ups, forgetfulness, and haphazard grip on policy. We've already experienced 8 years of a president with mental deficiencies. Do we really want four more years of this?

This blog will seek to educate and inform about McCain's declining physical and mental state. He has yet to release his medical records, and the job of the presidency is no place for a tired old man.

(Picture courtesy of Wigwam on Flickr)

For Comparison's Sake - Part II

Barack Obama, meanwhile, is two years younger than Magic Johnson, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Weird Al Yankovic.

He is the same age as George Clooney.

For Comparison's Sake - Part I

Think about this: John McCain is only two years younger than Wilford Brimley.

Braddock Agrees

Chuck Norris:

Chuck Norris brought his tough-guy approach to the campaign trail Sunday, taking aim at John McCain's age and suggesting the Arizona senator might not last even a single term.

Norris, an ardent supporter of Mike Huckabee, told reporters he believes serving as president accelerates the aging process 3-to-1.

"If John takes over the presidency at 72 and he ages 3-to-1, how old will he be in four years? Eighty-four years old — and can he handle that kind of pressure in that job?" Norris said, as Huckabee looked on.

"That's why I didn't pick John to support, because I'm just afraid the vice president will wind up taking over his job within that four-year presidency," added the action star.

72

Today marks 152 days until John McCain turns 72 years old.

Trouble On the Horizon for McCain

If you've seen the recent polling, McCain has a very small lead over Barack Obama in the general election matchup.  Currently, anywhere from a 5 point lead in Rasmussen to a 6 point deficit from Pew Research.

Some pundits have taken this to mean that Barack is in trouble.  After all, he was leading McCain by an average of 4% just a month ago, and now he is down 0.2%!  But these are actually terrible numbers for John McCain, given the landscape of the campaign recently.

Let's face it, old man McCain hasn't been criticized from the right since Mitt Romney dropped out, and the Dems have been too busy slugging it out to go after him.  McCain received bad press for his Bush-like idiocy about Sunnis and Shiites, but for the most part he's had a free ride these past six weeks.

Meanwhile his opponent, Barack Obama, has had the worst month of his 15-month campaign. Starting shortly after his Wisconsin victory, he's had to deal with Clinton's vicious attacks on his leadership, including her statements that geezer McCain (!) would be a better commander-in-chief. Obama has had to deal with the Rev. Wright scandal -- probably the most damaging attack he'll face this campaign.  The Rezko trial plods forward. Right wing smear emails about Barack and his supporters are spreading like wildfire. Obama lost Ohio, lost the Texas primary, and has had to deal with a lot of angry Clinton supporters who won't accept that the fresh face from Illinois is gonna take this thing.

In other words, Obama leads a divided party in the midst of a messy primary campaign, and he has been subjected to 24-hour-a-day media attacks and viral smear campaigns questioning his patriotism, race, religion, judgement, and honesty. He is a relative newcomer to the world of politics, whereas McCain has almost 100% name recognition and an adoring press at his beck and call.

You'd think, therefore, that McCain would be up by double digits at a minimum. We should be seeing polls with McCain 55% - Obama 40%.  The race wouldn't be over for Obama if this were the case, but it would be the kind of deficit you'd expect given the circumstances.

But instead, we're still seeing polls with Obama up or trailing closely, and McCain hasn't polled higher than 48% in three months (Obama, meanwhile, has polled as high as 53% in the same time period).  I can't see how this can be anything but terrible news for McCain, considering that his party is saddled with the weight of a Bush war, a Bush recession, and Bush himself. Things aren't gonna get much better for him down the road.

As for Obama, he has a lot of good news coming up. He'll beat Hillary at some point, maybe not in PA, but almost assuredly in NC. He'll get a major bump when Hillary when concedes/endorses, he'll get another bump from the Al Gore/John Edwards endorsements, he'll get another bump from picking a good VP, another bump from the Democratic convention, and a bump-by-proxy when McCain delivers a dull deer-in-the-headlights speech at the RNC convention in Minnesota.

Rachel Maddow recently pointed out that McCain needs to be up by ten percent right now.  The fact that he is basically tied is a portent of his serious weaknesses as a candidate.

John McCain Is Old

This blog is dedicated to the proposition that John McCain is an old coot.  

Not just any old coot, mind you.  We love us some old coots -- they can be funny, cantankerous, wise, generous, respectable.  But not old man McCain -- he is a hot-tempered, senile war-loving old coot, and is unfit to be President.

Image courtesy Flickr user NathanF

Many will disagree.  They will say that McCain is 71 years young, plenty of healthy years ahead of him, in the prime of his vitality.  So what if he is older than 93% of the country?  So what if he has been battling deadly skin cancer for fifteen years?  So what if he will be three years older than Ronald Reagan was when he took office?  John McCain has experience!

Yes, we grant this point.  Old Man McCain does have experience -- in staying alive for a long time.  He is now in his 8th decade, we give him that.  He also has plenty of experience in being wrong.  About Iraq, about the economy, about how great a President George W. Bush would be.

Image courtesy Flickr user jdlasica

Sorry, folks.  You can't deny it.  John McCain is a very old man, and he is getting older by the day.