ABC: Is joking about McCain's age dirty politics? David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Monday August 11, 2008





Print This Email This Republican presidential candidate John McCain's age has provided ample fodder for comedians, but questions persist about whether age-based humor should be as off-limits as jokes based on race or gender. In examples shown by ABC News, David Letterman joshed that "John McCain looks like the guy that picks up his tv remote when the phone rings," while Jan Leno cracked, "McCain spoke about his vision -- which he said is a little blurry and not good at night." However, comedian Kathleen Madigan told ABC that age jokes can't be considered a sign of prejudice because "we're all going to get old." ABC went to a retirement home to ask the residents how they feel about the McCain jokes. "To be honest, I do enjoy them," one woman in her 80's cheerfully acknowledged, while another said, "If it's a funny joke, I'll laugh, but if it's just being nasty, I don't want us to hear it." However, an 85 year old man insisted, "It's a form of discrimination, and I guess in that sense it's not appropriate." McCain himself has spoken good-naturedly about the issue, telling Letterman on one occasion, "I'm older than dirt and I've got more scars than Frankenstein." The McCain campaign, however, may not be taking it so lightly, especially since a recent poll found 20% of voters less likely to vote for McCain because of his age. When Barack Obama referred to McCain last May as "losing his bearings," after McCain had charged that Obama was the candidate, supported by Hamas, Joe Lieberman had to be brought in to report that "this morning I personally checked John McCain's bearings. ... They're all really in great shape." This video is from ABC's Good Morning America, broadcast August 10, 2008.

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