Presidential election boiling down to age versus experience

One of the things I've been wrestling with during this presidential election is the age factor.

In John McCain, the Republicans have a candidate with lots of experience, but 10 days from now, he'll turn 72. If he's elected and serves two terms, McCain will be 80 when he leaves office.

Barack Obama, meanwhile, just turned 47 two weeks ago. The Democrat comes off as someone full of energy, but he's only been a U.S. senator for three years.

It's grandpa versus the young whippersnapper. Experience against raw energy.

Grandpa looked pretty sharp earlier this month when he held a town hall meeting in Lima. Those who saw him field questions for 40 minutes left impressed with his command of the issues and the fact he didn't back down from his beliefs.

Surprisingly, no one we talked with voiced concern about McCain's age.

"He's well-seasoned, a stand-up guy with lots of experience. Age is absolutely not a factor," said Bob Stolly, 74, of Lima.

Shirley West, 77, of Bellefontaine agreed. She pointed out McCain's mother, Roberta, is 96 and still driving a car.

"A lot of us older people have good minds and good bodies. I think when you get older you have more common sense and use better judgment," West said.

Joe Losher, 70, of Elida liked McCain's 26 years in Congress and 22 years of military service. "He has a lot of experience where his opponent has little and never served in the military."

Some Democrats counter by saying experience inside the Beltway can be overrated. They point out that one of the most popular presidents from each party - Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy - also lacked experience in Washington before serving as president. Reagan had no experience on the federal level, although the Republican shining star was a two-term governor of California. At age 43, Kennedy was the youngest person ever elected president.

So, maybe I'm silly for being concerned about age, but I don't think so. I still remember Reagan napping a good portion of the last two years of his presidency. Then there was Jimmy Carter, whose inexperience saw him get little done and fail miserably on military issues and the economy.

I guess I'll wait for the debates before making up my mind.

ROSES AND THORNS: A few this week.

Rose: To Zach Elwer, of Delphos, and Danielle Skinner, of Bath. They were named Allen County Junior Fair Board king and queen.

Rose: To the Auglaize County Sheriff's Office. It competed against 870 police agencies in a safety campaign, and was one of two to win a new cruiser.

Thorn: To Brian Carmean, of Ada. In the midst of a drinking binge, he was involved in a two-hour standoff with Ada police officers after he began firing a gun from the porch of his trailer.

Thorn: Ken Richey, who sat on death row for 21 years before being freed, was back in jail in Scotland for beating up a 63-year-old man.

Thorn: An attempt to praise the physicians of the Allen County Health Partners was completely botched in last week's roses and thorns. The name of Dr. Anthony Atkins was misspelled. He is also one of three doctors at the clinic, the other two being Dr. Greg Parranto and Dr. Chris McCarthy.

PARTING SHOT: If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.