2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign Discussion Thread-Part 10.

[U2isthebest]

Originally Posted by U2democrat

He really had the passion going...and man did he call out McCain-Palin on their BS...or Malarky as he puts it. I loved his line about McCain seeing the presidency slipping from his grasp. He's fantastic. (I highly recommend his book Promises to Keep for anyone who has an interest in politics. It's funny and fascinating.)


I hope I get to see him again before Nov 4.

As Jason Sudeikis as Biden said on SNL last week, "You just got schooled Joe Biden style."

ETA: Laura, I tried sending you a PM, but your inbox is full.

[U2democrat]

OK it's empty, you can try sending me the PM again

[Night & Day]

Grandapa Walnuts

Last nights news had a story where a group of seniors were watching the debate, and asked to comment, they were saying McCain was too old....and they were really old.

[U2isthebest]

Originally Posted by Night & Day

Grandapa Walnuts

Last nights news had a story where a group of seniors were watching the debate, and asked to comment, they were saying McCain was too old....and they were really old.

My papa and grandma are older than McCain (he's 85, she's 77) and they both think he's too old. Granted, they're voting for Obama and have almost always voted Democrat, so they wouldn't be supporting any Republican candidate any way, but when people older than you think you're too old to be president, it's a little sad.

[VintagePunk]

Maybe being that age themselves, they're more realistic about the stamina that the job requires, and an older person's ability to perform the task, as well as the likelihood of health concerns/longevity being an issue.

[BoMac]

Originally Posted by VintagePunk

Maybe being that age themselves, they're more realistic about the stamina that the job requires, and an older person's ability to perform the task, as well as the likelihood of health concerns/longevity being an issue.

Look at photos of Bush back in 2000




and look at him now. You can
see the toll that the job takes on you.



In fact, it looks like Obama has aged considerably,





at least to me,
since he launched his presidential bid last year.

[deep]

Originally Posted by U2democrat

OK it's empty, you can try sending me the PM again

splains why you ignored my last 10 pms

[U2isthebest]

Originally Posted by VintagePunk

Maybe being that age themselves, they're more realistic about the stamina that the job requires, and an older person's ability to perform the task, as well as the likelihood of health concerns/longevity being an issue.

I think you're right. And the thing is, my grandparents are both in excellent health. If you looked at both of them, you'd guess they were in their 60s. That comes from not smoking or drinking, I guess along with their healthy lifestyle in terms of nutrition and exercise. They both walk a couple miles every day and ride their bikes as well, even a stationary bike in their basement in the winter. My papa has had diabetes for over 20 years now, but he controls with diet and a pill and has more energy than people half his age. My grandma has never taken any medication in her life and is the same way. I would say they're both in better health than McCain, and I think they have a better perspective on an elderly person being able to handle a job as stressful as the presidency.

[U2isthebest]

Originally Posted by BoMac

Look at photos of Bush back in 2000




and look at him now. You can
see the toll that the job takes on you.



In fact, it looks like Obama has aged considerably,





at least to me,
since he launched his presidential bid last year.

Nice deep impression. I'm still trying to figure out how President Clinton looks younger now than he did in 2000.

[BoMac]

Originally Posted by U2isthebest

Nice deep impression.

??

[VintagePunk]

Originally Posted by BoMac

Look at photos of Bush back in 2000




and look at him now. You can
see the toll that the job takes on you.



In fact, it looks like Obama has aged considerably,





at least to me,
since he launched his presidential bid last year.

I agree, and that's something I've always said, too. Look at any president from the past several decades, and they visibly age very rapidly once they're in office. It's like a presidential year equals two or three human years.

[UberBeaver]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

Cindy McCain makes appearance at Children's Hospital | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean

McCain, who stopped to visit a half-dozen children at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt today, said the presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has "waged the dirtiest campaign in American history,” and her husband Sen. John McCain will use tonight’s debate to correct the distortions.

Fox just reported that she was there in order to foil a Barak HUSSEIN Obama plot to take those children and sacrifice them to his heathen god in exchange for another month of positive polling results. Duh. It had nothing to do with politics, so please don't distort the truth.

[U2isthebest]

Dear Cindy Stepford, STFU. You're giving airhead trophy wives a bad name.

[BVS]

Originally Posted by U2isthebest

Dear Cindy Stepford, STFU. You're giving airhead trophy wives a bad name.

I think McCain may be scared of smart women...

[U2isthebest]

Originally Posted by BonoVoxSupastar

I think McCain may be scared of smart women...

I am beginning to notice a pattern.

[BVS]

Originally Posted by BoMac

Look at photos of Bush back in 2000




and look at him now. You can
see the toll that the job takes on you.



In fact, it looks like Obama has aged considerably,





at least to me,
since he launched his presidential bid last year.

ABC News: Before and After: Can Presidents Age Gracefully?

It is kinda scary, since McCain is pretty much already the "after" photo...

[U2isthebest]

Originally Posted by BonoVoxSupastar

ABC News: Before and After: Can Presidents Age Gracefully?

It is kinda scary, since McCain is pretty much already the "after" photo...

So was Reagan. I wonder if there's any truth to the talk that he was developing the early stages of Alzheimers during his last couple years in office. Also, the FDR comparison is a little different since he was president for 16 years as opposed to 4 or 8. We're all going to age a lot in that amount of time.

[VintagePunk]

Originally Posted by U2isthebest

So was Reagan. I wonder if there's any truth to the talk that he was developing the early stages of Alzheimers during his last couple years in office.

We were actually talking about this the other day. I looked it up, and he was diagnosed in '94 and passed away in '04. According to Alzheimers research, fewer than 3% of people live 14 or more years with the disease. So, there's a less than 3% chance he had it prior to 1990, despite how he seemed at times during the latter part of his presidency.

[U2isthebest]

Originally Posted by VintagePunk

We were actually talking about this the other day. I looked it up, and he was diagnosed in '94 and passed away in '04. According to Alzheimers research, fewer than 3% of people live 14 or more years with the disease. So, there's a less than 3% chance he had it prior to 1990, despite how he seemed at times during the latter part of his presidency.

Ah, ok. I wasn't alive (except for the last 3 months) of the Reagan presidency, but my mom mentioned the Alzheimers possibility to me about Reagan the other day. I just thought it would have been interesting to know since it would have been incredibly dangerous to have a person with even the slight beginnings of such a disease as Commander in Chief. Based on the statistics in your post, though, I'm guessing Reagan didn't have anything other than common memory loss during those last years as president.

[VintagePunk]

Originally Posted by U2isthebest

Ah, ok. I wasn't alive (except for the last 3 months) of the Reagan presidency, but my mom mentioned the Alzheimers possibility to me about Reagan the other day. I just thought it would have been interesting to know since it would have been incredibly dangerous to have a person with even the slight beginnings of such a disease as Commander in Chief. Based on the statistics in your post, though, I'm guessing Reagan didn't have anything other than common memory loss during those last years as president.

It really is a grey area, though. The disease often manifests for several years before the patient actually fits the criteria for a full-blown Alzheimers diagnosis. The stats I read didn't indicate whether or not these very early pre-diagnosis stages are included in that 14 year span, but given that the mean time of death after diagnosis is 7 years, I'm guessing they must.

However, it's one of those weird things that is very difficult to judge - where is the line where what could be normal forgetting and zoning out due to aging becomes early stage Alzheimers? He definitely had something going on, there.