US elections: McCain faces age-old issue in youth-fixated culture-by Charles Lewis
The United States has always wanted its presidents to be old --at least, that's what the Constitution says. Written more than 200 years ago, it sets a minimum age requirement of 35 years for the country's highest office, which does not seem old today but was middle-aged back then. Whether the framers' intent will help John McCain is not yet known, but early signs are his age will not work to his advantage. Last month, a Pew Research Center poll found 19% of Republicans thought Mr. Mc-Cain too old for the job. The view is not confined to members of his party: In a new poll released on Thursday, 32% of all voters found him too old to be president. The poll also said the word "old" was used most often to describe him, far ahead of "honest," "experienced" and "patriot."
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