Originally Posted by SteveZ

...and that bothers me a lot!

We have developed into a society that seems to consider being younger than the other person makes the younger one smarter, wiser, and more capable; and the older as dottering, locked-in-the-past, and ready for the ice flow. That's been the Hollywood representation for years, where the parent is the dumbbell and the kids are the only smart ones in the family. Whether it's TV shows, commercials or movies, that's been the propaganda, and the indoctrination seems to have solidified. Now it has vested itself into politics.

Being President is a cerebral job requiring not only an intellect; but 1) the knowledge of history (or you are doomed to repeat it), how government works (domestically and internationally) and how incident/crisis management is done; and 2) the skills of a diplomat, poker player, negotiator, senior executive and troubleshooter. Being an athlete or equivalent is unnecessary - as proven by President Roosevelt.

I kinda like "old" versus "bold" - As I tell many of my younger colleagues "the road you have yet to approach, I have already travelled successfully - you still have to prove yourself!"

Sen. Obama may have a more plausible approach to issues than Sen. McCain, but that will only be determined by a comparison of approaches to issues, not who has the latest birthday and acts more energetic.