From Noam Scheiber at TNR:
Jonathan Martin had a good piece Monday thinking through how John McCain's age will play in the general. It's especially timely in light of yesterday's "losing his bearings" back-and-forth:
But some Democrats already have explicitly questioned McCain’s fitness to serve at his age, including Rep. John Murtha, who himself is 75. The Clinton-backing Pennsylvanian has twice tweaked his fellow Vietnam veteran, suggesting first that the presidency was “no old man’s job” and then that McCain’s willingness to keep troops in Iraq for the long term was that of somebody who “doesn't expect to be around” for a second term.
Such shots, delivered by someone from McCain’s own generation with a smile and a chuckle, are the way the issue can be exploited, said Beckel.
“The only people who can attack on this are his age or older,” said Beckel, surmising that a contemporary could not be accused of ageism.
Trotting out a test line to be delivered by Murtha or another elder Democratic statesman, Beckel offered: “’I don’t know about John, but at 73 I can’t put up with that kind of pressure.’”
And, as Scott Reed pointed out, such an issue would have particular resonance among voters in the same age bloc.
“Seniors are the ones who really question [the age factor],” said Reed, Dole’s campaign manager in ’96. “And that’s the voting group that really turns out in national elections.”
That last thought is especially interesting. Obviously the conventional wisdom is that Obama struggles among seniors. Even the Obama campaign concedes the point. Is it possible that his weakness will be neutralized by seniors' skepticism that someone their age would be up to the rigors of the presidency?
What do you think? Will Murtha and his peers be an effective weapon for Obama against McCain? Should Barack even go there?
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