I've noticed that, with my elderly parents, you tend to notice progressions in their aging all at once- like they have aging spurts or something. My impression is that McCain had one such spurt in the last couple of months. I'm of course not blaming him for this- he's 71 years old and has lived a hard life, much of the hardship resulting from service in wartime.
But these quotes from foreign media strengthen my impression in this regard and make me think that McCain may be easier for Obama to beat than many think. McCain has had a few verbal gaffes lately, and his advisers don't seem as eager to put him on the Sunday morning talk shows as they used to. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, maybe not, but it could be a big factor in the election.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/mccains-overseas-press-coverageSome reporters were clearly struck by his age. The Times of London called him an “old dog,” in its headline, and wrote that he “looks older than his 71 years and every bit as tired as he should be, having just dragged his campaign from the grave to achieve an improbable victory over half a dozen younger rivals for the Republican nomination.'’
It goes on to describe its interview: “In his London hotel room, without the thick TV make-up that often masks the cancer scars on his face, he seems pale — utterly exhausted — almost frail.'’
The Jerusalem Post wrote earlier this week about the impressions its reporters had when they sat down with Mr. McCain at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem, writing that “McCain, 71, is not a young man, which is by no means a sin, a fault, nor something that should disqualify him from serving as president of the United States.'’
“It is just that in his presence you feel his age, you sense it. You feel it in the way he looks, especially around the neck, and in the way you can actually see him think, see him thinking. His answers are not of the rapid-fire variety; they are slower, more methodical.'’
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