After celebrating what would have been the 87th birthday of her late father, U.S. Senator John McCain (1936 – 2018), TV commentator and Daily Mail columnist Meghan McCain went off on an age-related rant, triggered by footage of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) appearing unable to respond to questions at the podium.
Senator John McCain would have turned 87 today.
— Siavosh Raji (@r_siavosh) August 30, 2023
He was a great defender of Iran's pro-democracy movement, a strong critic of the mullahs’ regime ruling #Iran & an advocate of a right US policy toward #Iran regime.
Rest in peace! pic.twitter.com/q8pd77k0k4
McCain, 38, shared the video below of Sen. McConnell “having another episode” where he suddenly appears to freeze while speaking, during a live TV appearance. Aides of the 81-year-old lawmaker came to his side and eventually led him away from the cameras.
McCain wrote: “I respect Mitch McConnell but – our country cannot go on like this with people this old in power. Like, our country can simply not go on like this.“
I respect Mitch McConnell but –
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) August 30, 2023
Our country cannot go on like this with people this old in power.
Like, our country can simply not go on like this. https://t.co/9aSGYhMePr
McCain didn’t stop there, adding the suggestion: “You should have to be between 45-75 to work in public office – and doctors should have to approve you. Term limits. Age limits. Health exams.”
You should have to be between 45-75 to work in public office – and doctors should have to approve you.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) August 30, 2023
Term limits. Age limits. Health exams.
The Constitution sets three qualifications for service in the U.S. Senate: age (at least 30 years of age); U.S. citizenship (at least nine years); and residency in the state a senator represents at time of election.
Sen. McCain was 71 when he ran for U.S. President. Running against a young Barack Obama, McCain made light of his age on an episode of Saturday Night Live when he asked the audience; “Good evening, my fellow Americans. I ask you, what should we be looking for in our next president? Certainly someone who is very, very, very old.”
McCain still held office in the U.S. Senate when he died at age 81, six years past his expiry date according to his daughter’s proposed rules.
Though age limits are common in professions like policing, some decry any limitations based on age alone as a form of ageism, defined as a “a prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age.”
Note: The term “ageism” was coined in 1969 by the late physician and gerontologist Dr. Robert N. Butler (the first director of the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health) to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. His 1975 book Why Survive? Being Old In America, won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1976.
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