Ringside

I would argue that to a lot of America, McCain lost, and it had nothing to do with a word he said. The visual was devastating and that is not a superficial point. What you had on stage was an old man and a young man. Not the same as Reagan versus Mondale, where they were both seen as elders to start with.



Most Americans don't know a thing about the issues, except for they bore them. Ask yourself this, Nora, do we use old men to sell products in the US? Not even Viagra. Anyone on Madison Avenue will tell you that youth sells, we have millions of dollars of examples of that assumption crossing our visual path everyday.



I think we will see a pattern emerge where every time McCain appears on stage next to Obama he will lose support, regardless of the salient points of the debate. Humans think in terms of archetypes, and Americans see themselves as youthful, not old ... that will play a part in the outcome of this race.



Remember, there was a reason that Reagan inserted a joke about his age into the debate with Mondale, and McCain isn't likely to joke the issue off with the same finesse.
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