The Information Age

I only recently became aware that John McCain doesn't know how to use a computer. I suppose it's not that shocking, a lot of people his age aren't necessarily adept with newish technologies and a U.S. Senator is in a position to have his computing done for him. Still, I could see having some concerns about the leadership of someone who doesn't use the dominant new technology of our time. Eve Fairbanks reports that Mark SooHoo, deputy e-campaign manager for McCain, had this to say on the matter at the Personal Democracy Forum:

You don’t necessarily have to use a computer to understand, you know, how it shapes the country. … John McCain is aware of the Internet.

I dunno. Do you have to use a computer to understand how it shapes the country? I think you might. If we had a president who didn't know how to drive a car, that would probably strike us as pretty odd. But I think you could plausibly claim that you don't necessarily have to have a driver's license in order to understand how automobiles shape the country. But that's because we assume that even someone who doesn't have a license has still been in cars sees highways, onramps and offramps, parking lots, quiet winding roads, overpasses, bridges, etc. If you hadn't done any of that stuff, then I think it really would be difficult to understand the implications of the technology.

But while people ride as passengers in cars all the time, I would imagine that someone who doesn't use a computer doesn't peer over the shoulder of his staff either. And under those circumstances, I think it really might be difficult to understand. But of course that's a defeasible assumption -- McCain could say something really insightful about information technology and its implications for politics and society and I guess we'd have to say "wow, that was smart." But I don't think he's done so and I don't think I'm going to hold my breath waiting.

Comments

I disagree. We should be careful about the extent to which we require presidents to have experiences just like normal Americans. Its helpful if our leaders have a slightly different perspective or experience. And anyway, Obama would lose this particular contest, not on using the computer but in respect to things like having gone bowling.

Posted by Ed | June 24, 2008 8:55 AM

John McCain is aware of all internet traditions.

Posted by SP | June 24, 2008 8:55 AM

My friends, John McCain understands torture. And, says his Vietnamese captor, he was never tortured.

So, he ought to be able to understand computers.

Posted by Jeffrey Davis | June 24, 2008 8:57 AM

By contrast, Russia's new president Medvedev is said to be an avid internet user. In fact he is making development of e-government one of the key goals of his administration.

Posted by MS | June 24, 2008 9:05 AM

...doesn't use the dominant new technology of our time.

New?

Posted by Midwest Product | June 24, 2008 9:06 AM

Obama would lose this particular contest, not on using the computer but in respect to things like having gone bowling.

because bowling, unlike computers, touches every aspect of our lives these days ?

Posted by cleek | June 24, 2008 9:13 AM

I normally don't like making excuses for people, but McCain's not alone among the elite for not knowing how computers work. You'd be surprised how many older scientists don't know how to use computers, either. I deal with many of them on the job. These are extremely intelligent people - more letters after their names than in them - and some are baffled by Microsoft Word. When their postdocs go home during the summer months, the problem calls begin.

Posted by Tel | June 24, 2008 9:14 AM

McCain is proving to be intellectually unfit for the presidency, just like Bush.

And yes, it is shocking that a candidate for President doesn't even use a computer.

We simply cannot afford another 4 years of a president who does not have the intellectual capability or background.

And yes, that is a requirement to do the job well. We wouldn't accept a doctor or accountant or even a mechanic these days who didn't know how to use a computer. Why should we accept such incompetence in a president?

Posted by cm | June 24, 2008 9:16 AM

some are baffled by Microsoft Word.

Well, but a great many people highly knowledgeable about computers are baffled by Mcrosoft Word, too.

Posted by rea | June 24, 2008 9:18 AM

because bowling, unlike computers, touches every aspect of our lives these days ?

yes but whom do you think the average voter would prefer - someone who can surf the internets, or someone who can bowl 200+?

Posted by MS | June 24, 2008 9:21 AM

I wasn't clear on whether Mcain doesn't use computers well (i.e. a scientist baffled by Microsoft Word) or doesn't know how to use a computer (e.g. doesn't know the concept of double clicking). The two things are pretty different; the first is fairly common (I think) among older people and isn't that big of a deal (to me it's at worst analogous to Matt's example of not knowing how to drive a car), but I think the second would be fairly odd and would, in fact, put Mcain out of touch with a lot of older people who presumably need or needed to use computers in some elements of their jobs.

Also, if you watch the Yahoo video on the Huffington Post site Matt links to, there's a great Mitt Romney moment - the reporter asks different Republican candidates "Mac or PC" and Romney characteristically tries to have it both ways by saying - I use a PC

Posted by Josh M | June 24, 2008 9:24 AM

This new quote absolutely deserves a lol.

Posted by cricket | June 24, 2008 9:25 AM

It's pretty weird. I wonder how McCain conceptualizes Obama's online advantage. "The tubes... the tubes..."

Posted by MattF | June 24, 2008 9:28 AM

Obama would lose this particular contest, not on using the computer but in respect to things like having gone bowling.

I don't want to make light of McCain's injuries, but I don't think he's much of a bowler. If bowling ability had any correlation to presidenting ability we'd have about the two worst possible candidates in this race.

Posted by ibid | June 24, 2008 9:43 AM

I think a president who is technologically ignorant will have a hard time making an informed decision about electronic eavesdropping. How can you debate the legality of something you don't understand?

Not that ignorance has ever stopped a right-wingnut from expounding upon the morality of so many issues.

Posted by LFC | June 24, 2008 9:44 AM

yes but whom do you think the average voter would prefer - someone who can surf the internets, or someone who can bowl 200+?

I got it: While it was unfeasible in previous elections for the candidates to have a beer with every voter, this time around we should just scrap the general, a bloody waste of time and money, and hold a Bowling Tournament instead!

Posted by novakant | June 24, 2008 9:52 AM

New and different ways of saying "McCain is old." How clever.

There is a difference between understanding the implications of the technology and, say, blogging, or spending time on facebook. Obama doesn't waste his time on the internet, but that doesn't mean he doesn't understand the technology.

The implications for politics are really the least interesting bit, except for folks like Matt. I mean, given the choice between someone who understands the implications of information technology for business, and someone who understands the implications for politics, give me the former.

Posted by Thomas | June 24, 2008 9:53 AM

Not to mention, McCain lists "Viva Zapata!" as his favorite movie OF THIS YEAR. He didn't even try to make an excuse like Huckabee. Forget bowling, can we really trust a guy who not only can't use a computer but also hasn't seen a movie since "Viva Zapata!"?

Incidentally, Wikipedia lists that movie as inspiration for Bush I's naming of his company. Why do conservatives love that movie? Seems like the elites wouldn't be very happy about a romanticized version of a guy fighting for the rights of the peasantry.

Posted by Jeremy | June 24, 2008 9:55 AM

It seems the point here is that by not knowing how to use a computer McCain is yet again pointed out as being a member of another generation. I'm hard pressed to believe that, at this time of great change, perhaps even revolution, the leader of the United States should be so very old fashioned. Sure, a lot of smart, older folks don't know how to use a computer, or have trouble with it, but they aren't vying to take our country into the 21st century.

I can see this resonating with a) octegenarians who feel like the world they knew is flying out from beneath them; McCain represents their own computer-illiteracy, and b) the vast swath of voters who believe that computers are fundamental to everyday life and know that this is not going to change, and will be horrified to think that their prez might be so computer-illiterat.

Posted by CHoward | June 24, 2008 9:59 AM

I don't know how to read. But I'm aware of libraries, and I hear there's some pretty useful information in them.

Posted by Karen | June 24, 2008 10:09 AM

A couple of points:

1. McCain's not the only one: A significant number of the elected members of the US Senate and House has never sent an email.
2. McCain's got physical issues that make using a computer, even just for word processing, difficult.
3. McCain's been in elected office continuously since 1982. Quite literally, he's always had aides around to do computer work.
4. As a former IT guy, it's been my experience that most of the people most enthused about the Web, computers, and electronic gadgets have only the thinnest grip of understanding of how those things actually work. Just because you know how to set your Blackberry to "buzz" doesn't mean you understand computers.

Posted by dry_fish | June 24, 2008 10:13 AM

A significant number of the elected members of the US Senate and House has never sent an email.

And a significant number of e-mails were sent by Karl Rove, but nobody seems to know what happened to them.

Posted by LFC | June 24, 2008 10:16 AM

*illiterate.

Posted by CHoward | June 24, 2008 10:17 AM

a lot of people his age aren't necessarily adept with newish technologies

"Newish?" Computers are older than Matthew Yglesias.

McCain could say something really insightful about information technology and its implications for politics and society and I guess we'd have to say "wow, that was smart." But I don't think he's done so and I don't think I'm going to hold my breath waiting.

Even if he did say something like that, so what? He doesn't write his own speeches.

Posted by jaltcoh.blogspot.com | June 24, 2008 10:24 AM

How can someone be in charge of the Internet and yet not know how it works???

Oh, right, the President isn't in charge of the Internet.

But on one of the major areas in which the President is in charge - the military - Barack has exactly zero experience.

Posted by Al | June 24, 2008 10:32 AM

"But on one of the major areas in which the President is in charge - the military - Barack has exactly zero experience."

Al, so by that metric you of course voted for Kerry in 2004, correct?

Posted by freddiemac | June 24, 2008 10:41 AM

But on one of the major areas in which the President is in charge - the military - Barack has exactly zero experience.

The Constitution defines the President as a civilian leader of the military, not as the military leader of civilians.

We've had dozens of Presidents already that prove that the condition you raise is irrelevant - even preferable. You're simply applying a double-standard to the black man.

Posted by Chet | June 24, 2008 10:43 AM

Thomas said: New and different ways of saying "McCain is old." How clever.

No one needs to be clever. New and different ways of saying "McCain is old" suggest themselves regularly as a result of things he says and does himself.

Posted by BlueStreak | June 24, 2008 10:43 AM

I don't understand how the dominant new Republican nominees keep accidentally sticking their forks in their eyes when they try to eat mashed potatoes. But I understand they do it heroically.

Posted by Kevin Hayden | June 24, 2008 11:15 AM

Far more troubling than an executive head of goverment that doesn't know all the technology people use when he wants things done is someone who wants to be Commander in Chief with no military eperience or foreign policy experience or executive leader experience.

MY - But I think you could plausibly claim that you don't necessarily have to have a driver's license in order to understand how automobiles shape the country. But that's because we assume that even someone who doesn't have a license has still been in cars sees highways, onramps and offramps, parking lots, quiet winding roads, overpasses, bridges, etc. If you hadn't done any of that stuff, then I think it really would be difficult to understand the implications of the technology.

How many military logistics flights or roads has Obama travelled? Has he ever been in a fighter plane, a sub, a surface Naval warship. Been shot at or understand how a tank or cluster bomb works? Commanded men rather than lawyer or give pretty speeches to them? Has he even had firearms instruction in his lifetime?

Posted by chris ford | June 24, 2008 11:16 AM

"How can someone be in charge of the Internet and yet not know how it works???

Oh, right, the President isn't in charge of the Internet.

But on one of the major areas in which the President is in charge - the military - Barack has exactly zero experience.

Posted by Al | June 24, 2008 10:32 AM"

China has been finding new ways to unleash cyberattacks and hacks against the Pentagon. When Commerce Secretary Guitterez visited China, they hacked his laptop. Something tells me these are national security issues. The military is being run a lot more on computers these days, a lot more since McCain last served decades ago. Computers and the internet were created to serve the US military. Not understanding them these days is like not understanding what a bomb does.

Posted by Reality Man | June 24, 2008 11:39 AM

How delightfully Startship Troopers of a few commentors to suggest that only those with military experience are qualified to be president. Of course, this is an opinion fairly ignorant of history as more than a few presidents with no military have acquitted themselves quite well.

But that aside, why not just take the next step and require that every candidate for president have had combat experience (or at least some time in uniform)?

Why?

Because it's a stupid idea, that's why.

And yes, in 2008, a candidate whose only familiarity with computers and thereby, the net, is through aids is probably pretty out of touch with the times. Analogies aside, being "aware" of computers again, in the year 2008, is an admission you're kind of out of it.

It's funny how the right constantly tars people with knowledge and experience in a subject as elites and yet people such as mccain, who has servants to deal with computers and the internet for him, aren't elite. No, they're down-to-Earth.

We used to call call that out of touch and stupid. Funny how things change.

Posted by ice weasel | June 24, 2008 11:50 AM

Reality, do you think we're going to have Obama working on encryption issues for the Pentagon? If that's the work he's going to do, we don't need to elect him president, we can just fire an engineer at the Pentagon and move Obama into his office.

Posted by Thomas | June 24, 2008 12:25 PM

It's not saying that he's old, it's that he's out of touch.

My mom has more than a dozen years on him. When she moved back to her summer place she got the broadband up and running again first. The satellite TV came later.

Posted by snoey | June 24, 2008 12:25 PM

"Reality, do you think we're going to have Obama working on encryption issues for the Pentagon? If that's the work he's going to do, we don't need to elect him president, we can just fire an engineer at the Pentagon and move Obama into his office.

Posted by Thomas | June 24, 2008 12:25 PM"

Thomas is not aware of reading comprehension.

Did I say Obama would be doing this? Nope. But McCain apparently is unaware of the basics of one of the main drivers of both of our economy and military. This is like not understanding that cars run on gas and then wondering why everyone is complaining about oil being $4 a barrel.

Posted by Reality Man | June 24, 2008 12:32 PM

Al, so by that metric you of course voted for Kerry in 2004, correct?

Well, in 2004, the Republican candidate had 4 years of experience commanding the military. (And don't ask about 2000; I didn't vote.)

It seems to me kind of silly for Matthew and the rest of the Obama team to make an issue of experience. It doesn't seem like a winning issue for their guy.

Posted by Al | June 24, 2008 1:25 PM

Previous presidents with no combat experience: Dwight Eisenhower (never fired a shot in anger, never led troops in combat) and Franklin Roosevelt. Your point?

Posted by ajay | June 24, 2008 2:02 PM

Reality, the fact that he doesn't use a computer doesn't mean he's "unaware of the basics."

Posted by Thomas | June 24, 2008 2:24 PM

Al, the issue isn't experience. It's about being out of touch with the times. Anyone who has never used a computer is pretty out of touch. Computers have been a mainstay of business, education, and government for around 25 years--longer in some industries. For a grown man to have avoided contact with computers during all that time really says a lot about the guy.

Posted by Rob Mac | June 24, 2008 4:02 PM

"For a grown man to have avoided contact with computers during all that time really says a lot about the guy. "

He's had a staff to do that thing since they first arrived on the market in real quantities. It's not so much the incuriosity, as the class issues this raises.

In 1992, George H.W. Bush couldn't even guess at the prices of a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread (to be honest, neither can I, offhand). He also expressed amazement at the then-standard supermarket laser scanners (partly taken out of context). He looked *completely* out of touch with modern American life-- because he was. He'd been a rich guy and important official for so long that his experience was isolated from that of the average American.

That's what someone saying they are "aware of the internet" means, to me. It's not that he's dumb, it's not that he's old-- it's that in the last twenty-six years, he's never HAD to.

He has a screen of underlings that standing between him and real life, and it's so thick he's now only vaguely aware of what's on the other side.

Posted by Anthony Damiani | June 24, 2008 4:55 PM

Actually, McCain's answer was worse than that.

What he actually says is, "I rely on that cunt for any assistance with computers".

Posted by Richard Steven Hack | June 24, 2008 5:04 PM

McCain didn't know whether he used a PC or a Mac. Who cares? That's just nomenclature...

He asks his wife for computer assistance, so what? Who here has never asked a friend or the google for computer assistance?

More thoughts on this subject at: http://lowtechtimes.com/2008/06/22/john-mccain-a-low-tech-candidate-for-president/

Posted by S. P. Gass | June 24, 2008 10:02 PM

Saying, "I don't know anything about computers" is a smart move for a politician like McCain who needs to roll up big margins among elderly voters.

A lot of older people take his ignorance of the computer as a signal that "he's like me." Most people in their 20s can't grasp just how resistant folks over 60 are to computers and related technologies. I doubt we've seen technophobia of such intensity since the introduction of automobiles in the late 19th century.

Oldsters will assume that McCain will have his staff get what he needs from computers, just as they have their grandchildren, younger neighbors and librarians do for them.

Posted by allbetsareoff | June 24, 2008 11:14 PM

But can McCain do the Jitterbug.?

Posted by Xboy | June 25, 2008 12:07 AM

I was curious, so I went looking for data: As of 2006, About 1/3 of Americans 65 and up "personally use[d] a computer to access the Internet." That number is likely rising as our more junior citizens become senior.

Posted by Erik | June 25, 2008 12:33 AM

"For a grown man to have avoided contact with computers during all that time really says a lot about the guy. "

He's had a staff to do that thing since they first arrived on the market in real quantities. It's not so much the incuriosity, as the class issues this raises.

In 1992, George H.W. Bush couldn't even guess at the prices of a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread (to be honest, neither can I, offhand). He also expressed amazement at the then-standard supermarket laser scanners (partly taken out of context). He looked *completely* out of touch with modern American life-- because he was. He'd been a rich guy and important official for so long that his experience was isolated from that of the average American.

That's what someone saying they are "aware of the internet" means, to me. It's not that he's dumb, it's not that he's old-- it's that in the last twenty-six years, he's never HAD to.

He has a screen of underlings that standing between him and real life, and it's so thick he's now only vaguely aware of what's on the other side.

Posted by Anthony Damiani | June 25, 2008 1:07 AM

"For a grown man to have avoided contact with computers during all that time really says a lot about the guy. "

He's had a staff to do that thing since they first arrived on the market in real quantities. It's not so much the incuriosity, as the class issues this raises.

In 1992, George H.W. Bush couldn't even guess at the prices of a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread (to be honest, neither can I, offhand). He also expressed amazement at the then-standard supermarket laser scanners (partly taken out of context). He looked *completely* out of touch with modern American life-- because he was. He'd been a rich guy and important official for so long that his experience was isolated from that of the average American.

That's what someone saying they are "aware of the internet" means, to me. It's not that he's dumb, it's not that he's old-- it's that in the last twenty-six years, he's never HAD to.

He has a screen of underlings that standing between him and real life, and it's so thick he's now only vaguely aware of what's on the other side.

Posted by Anthony Damiani | June 25, 2008 1:12 AM

(Double repost, sorry, hit refresh on the browser)

Posted by Anthony Damiani | June 25, 2008 1:14 AM

btw, robert moses never drove himself anywhere and he did a fantastic job with the NYC highways. wouldn't you agree?

Posted by colin | June 25, 2008 5:48 PM

McCain may understand war-- but war is war. Throughout history, people have fought over religion and nationalism and neither soldiers nor pacifists have been able to stop it.

On the other hand, technology can change how people think while creating a global community. We've barely tapped into the internet's potential to promote human rights and truly solve the problems that cause wars.

McCain's expertise in war will cause history to repeat because he is prone to solving problems in the way he knows best-- through the military. I would much rather have a President who can and will utilize the power of technology, the internet and its users.

Posted by rachelm | June 25, 2008 11:17 PM

McCain may understand war-- but war is war. Throughout history, people have fought over religion and nationalism and neither soldiers nor pacifists have been able to stop it.

On the other hand, technology can change how people think while creating a global community. We've barely tapped into the internet's potential to promote human rights and truly solve the problems that cause wars.

McCain's expertise in war will cause history to repeat because he is prone to solving problems in the way he knows best-- through the military. I would much rather have a President who can and will utilize the power of technology, the internet and its users.

Posted by rachelm | June 25, 2008 11:23 PM

McCain may understand war-- but war is war. Throughout history, people have fought over religion and nationalism and neither soldiers nor pacifists have been able to stop it.

On the other hand, technology can change how people think while creating a global community. We've barely tapped into the internet's potential to promote human rights and truly solve the problems that cause wars.

McCain's expertise in war will cause history to repeat because he is prone to solving problems in the way he knows best-- through the military. I would much rather have a President who can and will utilize the power of technology, the internet and its users.

Posted by rachelm | June 25, 2008 11:38 PM

McCain may understand war-- but war is war. Throughout history, people have fought over religion and nationalism and neither soldiers nor pacifists have been able to stop it.

On the other hand, technology can change how people think while creating a global community. We've barely tapped into the internet's potential to promote human rights and truly solve the problems that cause wars.

McCain's expertise in war will cause history to repeat because he is prone to solving problems in the way he knows best-- through the military. I would much rather have a President who can and will utilize the power of technology, the internet and its users.

Posted by rachelm | June 25, 2008 11:43 PM

McCain may understand war-- but war is war. Throughout history, people have fought over religion and nationalism and neither soldiers nor pacifists have been able to stop it.

On the other hand, technology can change how people think while creating a global community. We've barely tapped into the internet's potential to promote human rights and truly solve the problems that cause wars.

McCain's expertise in war will cause history to repeat because he is prone to solving problems in the way he knows best-- through the military. I would much rather have a President who can and will utilize the power of technology, the internet and its users.

Posted by rachelm | June 25, 2008 11:56 PM

McCain may understand war-- but war is war. Throughout history, people have fought over religion and nationalism and neither soldiers nor pacifists have been able to stop it.

On the other hand, technology can change how people think while creating a global community. We've barely tapped into the internet's potential to promote human rights and truly solve the problems that cause wars.

McCain's expertise in war will cause history to repeat because he is prone to solving problems in the way he knows best-- through the military. I would much rather have a President who can and will utilize the power of technology, the internet and its users.

Posted by rachelm | June 26, 2008 8:45 AM

McCain isn't just incapable of using the internet; he says he doesn't know how to use a computer. But the personal computer took over the American office landscape in the early 1980s - nearly 30 years ago! At that point, McCain was still a guy in his early 50s, not exactly 'too old' to learn how to manage the tech.

So there was a new device that his peers learned how to use in order to work, but he was either afraid of looking like he didn't know what he was doing (common among those with ego issues) or he was lazy enough that he figured that he'd just have someone else take care of it for him. Neither is particularly a recommendation on the "what's this guy really like?" front...

Posted by Marcus | June 26, 2008 10:18 AM

Re: Robert Moses. Like someone else pointed out, even someone who doesn't personally drive still often travels in a car and can observe and understand its importance. It's kind of difficult to "observe" the internet without actually using it. Because of its abstraction, it's also difficult for someone to explain it to a computer-illiterate person, as Ted Stevens has aptly demonstrated.

Posted by Howard | June 26, 2008 10:46 AM

While i will grant military experience /can/ be positive thing in a president, in and of itself it is meaningless.

Or need i point out that the president who is consistently rated by historian as either our worst president or in the bottom 3 was also one of our greatest generals? (Ulysses S. Grant)

Posted by AarynLaperle | June 26, 2008 11:07 AM

In 2008, it's hard for me to conceive of some minimal degree of computer literacy as not being a requirement for POTUS. I turned 62 yesterday, which doesn't seem to me to be that far from McCain's age. My father-in-law is 86 and uses a computer, mostly for web surfing and e-mail; he may not be proficient, but at least he is familiar with the basics.

This reminds me of Bush senior expressing surprise at barcode scanners in supermarkets. The cultural and technological vacuum in which some politicians exist alarms me. Age is no excuse for ignorance. It's ironic that as I post this comment, a plug for Yglesias's book, Heads in the Sand appears to the right of the input box.

Posted by Selden | June 26, 2008 11:08 AM

Let me get this straight: just because someone gets shot out of the sky in their plane and they land in a Vietnamese prison where they're tortured, that person is somehow qualified to be commander-in-chief and is deemed an expert on national security? Gimme a break. He's not exactly Ike or Patton. By that standard, there must be hundreds or thousands of formerly enlisted or active servicemen and women who are far more qualified than McCain.

Posted by Jim | June 26, 2008 11:15 AM

Let me get this straight: just because someone gets shot out of the sky in their plane and they land in a Vietnamese prison where they're tortured, that person is somehow qualified to be commander-in-chief and is deemed an expert on national security? Gimme a break. He's not exactly Ike or Patton. By that standard, there must be hundreds or thousands of formerly enlisted or active servicemen and women who are far more qualified than McCain.

Posted by Jim | June 26, 2008 11:16 AM

Let me get this straight: just because someone gets shot out of the sky in their plane and they land in a Vietnamese prison where they're tortured, that person is somehow qualified to be commander-in-chief and is deemed an expert on national security? Gimme a break. He's not exactly Ike or Patton. By that standard, there must be hundreds or thousands of formerly enlisted or active servicemen and women who are far more qualified than McCain.

Posted by Jim | June 26, 2008 11:18 AM

Those who suggest that Obama as absolutely NO miltary experience should check out a list of his Senate Committee assignments, they include:

Foreign Relations
Veterans' Affairs
Homeland Security

I would say that each of these touch on Military Matters and count as Viable Experience.

Consider, too, that, along with Sen Lugar (R) Obama has made several trips to Eastern Europe to oversee the dismantling of old Soviet military hardware and the buy-up of nuclear material. Also, tangentially at least, military.

http://lugar.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=278019

http://illinoischannel.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!B0DB128F5CD96151!1856.entry

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/kankakee-il/TEJEHH26U

Posted by Brad Hoehne | June 26, 2008 11:26 AM

There are many, many older folks who have learned how to use computers. Age is no excuse for not adapting to something as central to modern life as the computer. Let's face it, they're not all that hard to use.

What McCain's ingnorance shows, most of all, is that he's probably past the point where he sees value in intellectual growth or new ideas. This is not an encouraging sign.

Posted by Mike | June 26, 2008 11:46 AM

There are many, many older folks who have learned how to use computers. Age is no excuse for not adapting to something as central to modern life as the computer. Let's face it, they're not all that hard to use.

What McCain's ingnorance shows, most of all, is that he's probably past the point where he sees value in intellectual growth or new ideas. This is not an encouraging sign.

Posted by Mike | June 26, 2008 11:50 AM

For someone who has been a Senator for so long, the lack of facility with a computer/the Internet is most indicative of a lack of intellectual curiosity. And that's been one of the major problems with the current occupant of the White House.

Posted by JBK | June 26, 2008 12:27 PM

How about robots? Has either candidate given us any reason to believe that they understand robots?

I, for one, will be voting for Executron for President. He promises that all future robots will have a functioning subservience chip, and that's good enough for me.

Posted by Tom Ames | June 26, 2008 12:27 PM

It speaks to McCain's intellectual curiousity that he is as clueless about a facet of life for so many people around the globe. From a practical point of view, wouldn't hands-on experience with a multi-billion dollar industry provide a better idea of the new economic model and its' potential.

One more day of a President with an agenda, and a shuttered mind is one day too many.

Posted by Steve | June 26, 2008 12:41 PM

It speaks to McCain's intellectual curiousity that he is as clueless as he appears to be about an important facet of life for so many people around the globe. Do I care if McCain can program his DVR, configure a router or even download a song to an iPod - not too much. But, from a practical point of view, wouldn't hands-on experience with a multi-billion dollar industry provide a better idea of the new economic model and its' potential, and the paths that leadership should follow.

One more day of a President with an agenda, and a shuttered mind is one day too many.

Posted by Steve | June 26, 2008 12:47 PM

It speaks to McCain's intellectual curiousity that he is as clueless as he appears to be about an important facet of life for so many people around the globe. Do I care if McCain can program his DVR, configure a router or even download a song to an iPod - not too much. But, from a practical point of view, wouldn't hands-on experience with a multi-billion dollar industry provide a better idea of the new economic model and its' potential, and the paths that leadership should follow.

One more day of a President with an agenda, and a shuttered mind is one day too many.

Posted by Steve | June 26, 2008 1:12 PM

"But I think you could plausibly claim that you don't necessarily have to have a driver's license in order to understand how automobiles shape the country."

I would go a step further and say, that even not knowing how to drive does affect your understanding. I am a 29yr old who learned how to drive this summer, and before this month I never truly appreciated gas price hikes. (Yes, I picked an unfortunate summer to learn how to drive.)

I agree. I do think it's a major flaw that McCain does not know how to use the computer. I mean, that's weird. If it was any other technology, I might be less forgiving. But the computer? It's impact on our world technologically, socially, politically, in every conceivable way, cannot be over-stated. And he hasn't bothered to figure out how it works?

Posted by sonia | June 26, 2008 1:19 PM

"But I think you could plausibly claim that you don't necessarily have to have a driver's license in order to understand how automobiles shape the country."

I would go a step further and say, that even not knowing how to drive does affect your understanding. I am a 29yr old who learned how to drive this summer, and before this month I never truly appreciated gas price hikes. (Yes, I picked an unfortunate summer to learn how to drive.)

I agree. I do think it's a major flaw that McCain does not know how to use the computer. I mean, that's weird. If it was any other technology, I might be less forgiving. But the computer? It's impact on our world technologically, socially, politically, in every conceivable way, cannot be over-stated. And he hasn't bothered to figure out how it works?

Posted by sonia | June 26, 2008 1:22 PM

This week's Newsweek cover on Cindy McCain repeats the story that her parents were trying to shelter Bridget McCain from learning that she had been a political football in the 2000 South Carolina primary. Bridget found out all about it when, like any high-schooler, she Googled herself. Definitely a degree of cluelessness there (although, needless to say, the Bush campiagn should never have put an opponent's child in that position to begin with).

Posted by hild | June 26, 2008 1:25 PM

At first thought you think it doesn't matter, but then when you tell yourself that the most powerful man on earth can't use a computer then there's a disconcerting feel to this revelation.

Posted by dave | June 26, 2008 1:33 PM

My 84-year-old Mother who has never worked in her life would be LOST without email and the internet. How could we POSSIBLY think of electing such an intellectually uncurious(and possibly incompetent?) person to the most important position in the world. And NO -it is not defense to say there were no computers in his prisoner of war camp!

Posted by Scott W San Diego | June 26, 2008 1:33 PM

This week's Newsweek cover on Cindy McCain repeats the story that her parents were trying to shelter Bridget McCain from learning that she had been a political football in the 2000 South Carolina primary. Bridget found out all about it when, like any high-schooler, she Googled herself. Definitely a degree of cluelessness there (although, needless to say, the Bush campiagn should never have put an opponent's child in that position to begin with).

Posted by hild | June 26, 2008 1:33 PM

At first thought you think it doesn't matter, but then when you tell yourself that the most powerful man on earth can't use a computer then there's a disconcerting feel to this revelation.

Posted by dave | June 26, 2008 1:36 PM

I disagree with Senator McCain on many - if not most - issues, but I still think he's a good, honorable man worthy of everyone's respect. (Bush, on the other hand, is an idiot criminal who deserves things the Secret Service would arrest me for saying.)

Nevertheless, I find this ignorance alarming. I've met plenty of old (and I do mean old) folks who don't "do computers." I've tried to explain that this is like someone from their generation saying they don't listen to the radio or TV - it signals a total disconnect with one of the defining aspects of modern life. This doesn't mean he's a stupid man, by any stretch. But it does mean that he has a huge, and growing, gap of understanding of American and global society - and thus, is not qualified to lead our nation.

Posted by Blair | June 26, 2008 1:49 PM

I disagree with Senator McCain on many - if not most - issues, but I still think he's a good, honorable man worthy of everyone's respect. (Bush, on the other hand, is an idiot criminal who deserves things the Secret Service would arrest me for saying.)

Nevertheless, I find this ignorance alarming. I've met plenty of old (and I do mean old) folks who don't "do computers." I've tried to explain that this is like someone from their generation saying they don't listen to the radio or TV - it signals a total disconnect with one of the defining aspects of modern life. This doesn't mean he's a stupid man, by any stretch. But it does mean that he has a huge, and growing, gap of understanding of American and global society - and thus, is not qualified to lead our nation.

Meanwhile, Obama is releasing his iPod playlists! Awesome.

Posted by Blair | June 26, 2008 1:55 PM

I disagree with Senator McCain on many - if not most - issues, but I still think he's a good, honorable man worthy of everyone's respect. (Bush, on the other hand, is an idiot criminal who deserves things the Secret Service would arrest me for saying.)

Nevertheless, I find this ignorance alarming. I've met plenty of old (and I do mean old) folks who don't "do computers." I've tried to explain that this is like someone from their generation saying they don't listen to the radio or TV - it signals a total disconnect with one of the defining aspects of modern life. This doesn't mean he's a stupid man, by any stretch. But it does mean that he has a huge, and growing, gap of understanding of American and global society - and thus, is not qualified to lead our nation.

Meanwhile, Obama is releasing his iPod playlists! Awesome.

Posted by Blair | June 26, 2008 1:58 PM

McCain may understand war-- but war is war. Throughout history, people have fought over religion and nationalism and neither soldiers nor pacifists have been able to stop it.

On the other hand, technology can change how people think while creating a global community. We've barely tapped into the internet's potential to promote human rights and truly solve the problems that cause wars.

McCain's expertise in war will cause history to repeat because he is prone to solving problems in the way he knows best-- through the military. I would much rather have a President who can and will utilize the power of technology, the internet and its users.

Posted by rachelm | June 26, 2008 2:02 PM

I would like to know the highest ranked member of the US government that can bowl 200+

Posted by tony | June 26, 2008 2:47 PM

Let's put the fact that McCain has never used a computer into perspective.

Someone upthread said that "those over 60 are resistant to technology". Umm, sorry, you're a decade or two off. Anyone who has held a job since about 1990 has had to know how to use a computer. I don't care who you are, you've learned to send email.
Even my grandparents, both headed into their 90's, use email at my aunt's house, though they don't like it very much.

So McCain is really appealing to that all-important 85+ demographic that doesn't like computers.

And yes, the president having only the vaguest theoretical knowledge of the internet is a problem. How could he POSSIBLY understand the implications of net-neutrality? The functional importance of security? What does he believe happens when China hacks the Pentagon? Does he know what's at stake? Do we have to have someone there to explain it to him?
Imagine explaining the difference between Windows and Mac to a 70 year old who has never used a computer. How could they possibly understand the difference?

Posted by EvilAsh | June 26, 2008 4:47 PM

McCain may not be able to actually use a computer, but he knows how to bomb them and the people using them, and that's enough to implement his platform. And, hey... what year is it again?

Posted by Jim from Clinton, CT | June 26, 2008 5:12 PM

I read the top third of comments here and got impatient. Look, the question isn't whether the president can build his own computer. The question is: Does he understand that the internet has created a new culture in the US, and that this culture is subject to attack not only from hackers but from our own corporations, who would like to see, for example, search engines changed -- and how that "small" change would damage the culture? Or are we going to get a guy who thinks that "series of tubes" analogy is accurate enough, like it's just the pneumatic thing at the old bank drive-thru to give you money? I want the guy who understands and values the fragile new culture, period.

Posted by hotspur | June 26, 2008 6:21 PM

Let me get this straight: just because someone gets shot out of the sky in their plane and they land in a Vietnamese prison where they're tortured, that person is somehow qualified to be commander-in-chief and is deemed an expert on national security? Gimme a break. He's not exactly Ike or Patton. By that standard, there must be hundreds or thousands of formerly enlisted or active servicemen and women who are far more qualified than McCain.

Yeah, like Max Cleland.

Posted by George Kellner | June 26, 2008 7:52 PM

My grandmother has a newer laptop then me and a faster internet connection than I do.

My grandmother is 98.

(!!)

This says just about all that needs to be said about whether (soon to be 72 year old) McCain's computer ignorance puts him out of touch.

~

In any event, I can't see how not being familiar with computers doesn't have an impact on understanding policy. If you've never used a computer, how can you understand the significance of training policies that encourage computer technology skills? Or, more specifically, how could anyone possibly understand Net Neutrality (and its significance) without ever having used the internet (let alone understanding how the internet works)? Without basic internet skills, a concept like Net Neutrality would be entirely too theoretical to actually understand.

Posted by McKingford | June 27, 2008 1:38 AM

I think we can safely assume that John Kennedy never "said something really insightful about rocket booster technology." But that didn't stop him from having incrediable vision and leadership when it came to putting a man on the moon.

And he obviously was never a passenger in a space shuttle either. I kind of see the point of this post, but I don't think it holds up under historical scrutiny.

Posted by Michael Passman | June 28, 2008 11:24 PM