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John McCain may be too conservative. He may be too stubborn. He may even just be too damn wrong. But too old? Nonsense!

Before you call John McCain too old, ask a liberal if John Paul Stevens is too old to serve as a United States Supreme Court Justice. You may hear a quick, "Nonsense!" At 87, John Paul Stevens is one of the most active questioners on the Supreme Court. The man still plays tennis regularly. Moreover, you can believe that he will still be serving on the Court when President Bush walks out of the White House for the last time.

Before you call John McCain too old, walk into the Rockmount Western Clothing Store in Denver, Colorado, and ask to speak to Jack Weil about too old. I expect that he is too much of a gentleman to laugh in your face. At 106, he is the oldest chief executive in the United States. He shows up to work daily to run his business. If you are lucky, he will tell you stories about personally meeting blue jean maker Levi Strauss and hat maker John Stetson. In 2008, when President Bush clears out his desk in January 2009, you will likely find him behind his desk working on his accounts.

Before you call John McCain too old, think of Shimon Peres, sworn in as Prime Minister of Israel at 84 for a seven-year term. For from being rigid and fixed in his ideas, since becoming leader of his party, this man has evolved from a famous hawk into a man with a reputation for being something of a dove. He now strongly supports the concept of peace through economic cooperation.

We need to judge John McCain by his words and his deeds. In John McCain, you have a Republican maverick who has actively sponsored gun control legislation in the past. You have a Republican who despite bitter opposition for his party and lobbyists, authored and drove through Congress the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill. In John McCain, you have a Republican who has vocally supported legalizing the status of illegal aliens. In short, when you look at John McCain, you see a maverick who cuts his own path through the thickets of Washington, D.C., and whether you agree with his positions or not, his age has little to do with his qualification for the office of president of the United States.

Learn more about this author, Brad Kincaid.
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