On The Bus With McCain: Age, Temperament, and Energy
Looking old, acting young, and smiling a lot
By Adam C Posted in 2008 — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
One thing that I find hard to judge following campaigns through the glorious interwebs is what a person's temperament is. Rumors abound about a private icy coldness of Hillary, a jovial Huckabee, and an angry McCain, but since the rumors are about how these people act in private, it's hard to get first hand knowledge of their personality.
After spending 2 days with the McCain campaign, I came to three conclusions about the Senator's age and temperament. First, the Senator looks his age. I don't have to describe why, you can look through these photos and compare them to the 2000 McCain.
Second, besides his outward appearance there is no hint that the man is over 70. His energy level, wit, physical stamina, and mental acuity are that of a man 20 years younger. I never saw him slow down to catch his breath, stop anywhere to sit down for a moment, or even take time alone for a while to have some peace and quiet.
Third, I never saw a hint of his rumored anger. Granted, we were in the presence of other media the whole time and this was only a 2 day ride-along, but I saw no raising of his voice and no gruffness. He seemed to genuinely enjoy the process of talking to citizens, campaigning, answering questions, and competing to win.
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On The Bus With McCain: Age, Temperament, and Energy 3 Comments (0 topical, 3 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
I was also fortunate enough to spend a day...a fourteen hour day trying to keep up with John McCain on the campaign trail. In my time on the bus, I found him to thoughtful, insightful and exetremely knowledgable on the oppotuinities that face this nation.
He also gave me as much attention as the reporters/columnists from the NY Times, Boston Globe, CNN, ABC et al for which I was grateful.
Brad Marston
Visit the best political blog that nobody reads at www.azamatterofact.com
In his McCain writeup in the Weekly Standard years ago. On paper, McCain can look like the angriest man to ever run for President, except that in person, he's not.
Now, his pronouncements have become more even-handed, but it's easy for someone to read a quote "Thanks for the question, you little jerk. You're drafted" and assume a high level of annoyance or anger that just isn't there.
www.mikehuckabee.com