Generations on trial

Political ideologies aside, the two candidates are being measured by their age. Some media sources have decided to emphasize the generational dichotomy and draw conclusions from it. Confused about the issues, an undecided voter might make a voting decision based purely on a candidates age. Some of the reasons to vote young include: Fresh ideas (change), in touch with young peoples concerns, not likely to die soon, hasn't had cancer yet. The reasons to vote old include: Experience, in touch with old peoples concerns, wisdom, a survivor. To balance out the age related discrimination on both sides it is not surprising that Senator Obama chose an older running mate while Senator McCain chose a younger running mate. As the debates begin it is likely that media critics will look for arguments that indicate experience or inexperience, and reveal the vigor of both candidates.

Comments

Andy Egizi, Program Coordinator said…
You are on to something here. Age has been a key factor in my thinking about the candidates. This might leave me open to criticsm for age discrimination but I'd have to plead guilty to that. There are some things I wouldn't trust my parents to do and there are other things I'd never ask a 20 year to do. To me, it seems that there are instances in which discrimination based upon age is at least a reasonable factor to consider if not a responsibility.
September 26, 2008 at 12:21 PM
Jessica said…
I think you are right that opinions of each candidate are being based on age. Ideally, the quality of the person's years would trump the quantity. An eighty-year-old may have had more time to accomplish things than a 30-year-old, but that doesn't mean that he or she has.
September 26, 2008 at 1:31 PM
Beth said…
As I read your post I thought about the upcoming debate. I wasn't so much focused on age, as much as I was sex. I immediately took a liking to Palin because I liked Hillary, and my goodness, we all know how much two women can differ. Since her first speech, I think her popularity is waning. I heard she did poorly in another interview, so as I sit here awaiting the debate tonight, I am wondering if she will impress me once again, or if I will go back toward the young and inexperienced candidate? I am still undecided.
When I think of the candidates I try not to think of age, but of experience, and as we know with age comes experience, but with age also comes the increased likelihood of alzheimers??? How many houses do you own??? (and that was a hard question.)
October 2, 2008 at 4:11 PM
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