Saturday, September 13, 2008
Issues: e-mail
As a philosophical / linguistic matter, I have problems with the logic that singles out one or another skill as so pivotal that not having it makes it impossible for someone to be able to perform the duties of the presidency. There just isn't a job description for being president that includes anything all that specific. Plus, in terms of basic physical abilities, there are so many assists for problems (e.g., Braille and cd's allow a blind person to "read") that I can't think of any abilities whose absence would flatly disqualify someone.

In recent days the Obama campaign has fired ads that say that McCain doesn't use e-mail or spend time online and therefore is clearly too old and out of touch to be president. But in an interview in the NY Times earlier this year, we learn that he does read e-mail, it's just that he doesn't send e-mail nor read newspapers online and for two pretty interesting reasons. Here's the first:
Q: Do you use a blackberry or email?
Mr. McCain: I use the Blackberry, but I don’t e-mail, I’ve never felt the particular need to e-mail. I read e-mails all the time, but the communications that I have with my friends and staff are oral and done with my cell phone. I have the luxury of being in contact with them literally all the time. We now have a phone on the plane that is usable on the plane, so I just never really felt a need to do it.
He doesn't read papers online but for a reason that's not a bad one since his interest would largely be the impact of events and the cited "prominence of the story" is a function of the editors' opinions and therefore would tell him something about the attitudes and opinions that influence people:
Q: You read newspapers then.
Mr. McCain: I read them most all every day.
Q: You and Obama are both newspaper and book readers. Do you read them in the old paper version or do you read them online?
Mr. McCain: I love to read them in the print form, and the reason why I do is because so much, the prominence of the story matters. If I read a story and say, Oh my God, did you see this? But it’s back on A26, it doesn’t have the impact of what are still – even though it’s declining – what are still, what are hundreds of millions of American picking up an looking at today.
And it turns out there's another reason he doesn't send e-mail. An article on Boston.com points out that he doesn't type comfortably because injuries to his arms and hands "prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes." But "he passed the Navy physical" after extensive physical therapy.

Presumably he can be at the independent ready by keeping his hair short and wearing non-tie shoes and having voice-recognition software.

Incidentally, I found this information by typing "McCain email using" into the ask.com search bar, so why didn't the Obama people find it too? Don't they fact-check? Will Obama have to make a statement amending the ad, as he amended Burton's first reaction to Palin? And since this is the third or fourth time they've had to backtrack, do you suppose it's possible that someone in Obama's campaign is sabotaging him?

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Permalink | | posted by jau at 9:13 AM


1 more:
Anonymous Anonymous — at 11:01 PM, September 13, 2008:
No, no one's sabotaging him, it's sheer incompetence. And don't forget he's touting this as his main experience that qualifies him to be Pres. He's been a joke from day one and it's finally catching up with him as people catch on to it.
 

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