Comments on:

By: timothy allen brown

timothy allen brown — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:37:32 +0000

“obama likes fdr, who led the country through the depression, and mccain likes teddy, who spoke at his high school graduation” ~ stephen colbert

By: timothy allen brown

timothy allen brown — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:33:22 +0000

nader’s got a few years on him! :)

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:19:29 +0000

Thanks Andy and Justin for two reasonable, thoughtful comments. I appreciate you both taking the time to respond in a respectful manner. It’s a bit of light in what has been a somewhat disappointing few weeks in the political landscape.

By: Andy Baio

Andy Baio — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:21:10 +0000

Thanks for the honest critique. You’re the very first person that’s mentioned the ageism issue on Waxy.org, and I’m glad you did.

In hindsight, you’re right. The “Things Older Than McCain” site is an unfair (though very funny) line of attack. Generalizing anyone’s ability based on age alone is ridiculous. I’ve edited my link text to reflect this, and I won’t be defending the use of ageism in this election again.

As Justin pointed out, the Daily Kos link pokes fun at McCain’s well-known unfamiliarity with computers, and I’m totally comfortable with that. Likewise, I reviewed the other 11 times I’ve mentioned McCain, and they’re all fair, based on his policies and public statements.

Thanks for the feedback! Hope to see you back after the election.

By: Justin

Justin — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:02:12 +0000

While it’s pretty clear we don’t agree on many aspects of politics, I will grant you that ageism and sexism has been used many times in this election, both by commentators and by the candidates themselves. And yes, while I do support the very man you can’t stand, I’ve been trying to be fair this time around by giving both candidates a chance.

For the sake of fairness, then, I’d just like to point out a couple of things. First, the link you point to in your fourth paragraph links to a page (and a comment, at that) criticizing the technological illiteracy that McCain has admitted, not his age. If you click on the “View Story” link above the graphic, you’ll see the article to which the comment was posted states that the criticism is not one of age. (I’d agree that the link in the first paragraph does unfairly criticize McCain’s age, though I do believe the issue should be considered in the election.)

I also just want to note that ageism doesn’t always just swing one way. In May, McCain touched upon the issue as well. But that’s another story entirely, I think.