http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2325664,00.asp
Given that tech is becoming extremely important, what does this say about the
man? He admits to being clueless about the economy, and now about technology.
What next? Clueless about arithmatic?
John McCain Can't Read This Column
ARTICLE DATE: 07.16.08
By Lance Ulanoff
Buzz up!on Yahoo!
John McCain, the oldest presidential candidate this nation has ever had, has
now proven, by his own admission, that he's not tech savvy enough to run this
country.
I hate ageism. I really do. Assumptions made about people because of their age
(young or old) drive me nuts, especially as I move firmly into middle age, a
time in life where expectations are lowered and opportunities can wither.
Computing has turned age expectations on their head. Obviously, young people
are the guides here. Just last week on my train ride home, I eavesdropped as a
pixie-like 10-year-old girl tutored her middle-aged parents on the myriad
features of her cell phone.
"How many pictures can it take?" asked her slightly bemused dad.
"Well, I'm not sure. Oh, wait," she said. After a couple of clicks on her
phone, she continued, "It says 417 out of 437. So, 437." She continued this way
for a time, pushing buttons and pointing out features to her seemingly
technophobic father and mother.
Obviously, there are millions of people older than me who are exceedingly
comfortable with all kinds of technology, though I'm starting to think they're
the exception, not the rule. Many of them started working with computers in the
1970s and early 1980s when they were middle aged. I've been fiddling with
computers since I was a teenager, and I'm lucky to be inside the
industryâclose enough to it all to learn about and try out pretty much every
major new product. Kids todayâand those born today, tomorrow, and the next
dayâwill be touching technology far earlier. It will happen during their
formative years, and technology will be permanently imprinted on their minds.
For the youngest generations, technology will be as hardwired into their brains
as their own mothers' faces.
At the other end of the spectrum are people who've spent their entire lives
ignoring or sidestepping technology. They've comfortably reached their late
50s, 60s, 70s and even 80s without ever once touching a keyboard, using a cell
phone, or snapping a photo with a digital camera. Technology is as alien to
them as rock 'n' roll was to parents in the late 50s and early 60s.
Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain falls into this last category.
McCain recently admitted to The New York Times that he currently has other
people go online to get him the information he needs, adding that he's working
on mastering the technology. According to the Times, McCain uses "his wife, and
aides like Mark Salter, a senior adviser, and Brooke Buchanan, his press
secretary, to get him online." McCain actually said that these people "go on
for me."
Then the clincher from McCain: "I don't e-mail. I've never felt the particular
need to e-mail."
I guess this means he doesn't even read his own campaign's e-mail newsletter.
At the very least, he doesn't write any of it on a computer.
What a bunch of hogwash. The man's been in Congress for well over 25 years, and
Internet policy has been on the agenda for at least a decade. During that time,
he's voted on over a dozen different pieces of technology legislation. What the
hell was he waiting for? I've always appreciated McCain's wit, straight talk,
and integrity, but this is embarrassing. How can anyone hope to lead in the
21st century without a deep understanding of technology and the myriad issues
that attend it? ânext: Questions for McCain >
Some questions and concerns for you, Senator McCain:
* If you're not online, you certainly can't understand Net neutrality or
why Comcast could be at fault for allegedly blocking certain kinds of traffic.
* If you're not online, Senator McCain, how can you truly understand the
multitude of threats that face our children?
* If you're not using a computer, how can you understand the devastating
effect of spyware to individuals, businesses, organizations, and even nations?
* If you're not reading e-mail, how can you understand the way millions of
people spend their days and nights?
* If you're not using a computer, how will you understand the role
computers play in energy consumption and, potentially, conservation?
McCain's opponent in the upcoming Presidential election, Democratic challenger
Barack Obama, is known to be a BlackBerry addict (as is former presidential
hopeful Hillary Clinton). McCain is familiar with BlackBerrys because everyone
around him has one, but he remains in the cone of technology silence. No smart
devices, no e-mail, no problem.
This isn't all McCain's fault. Congress has a history of techno-illiteracy and
of finding ways of making fun of those who are interested in or do get
technology. People often make light of Al Gore's assertion that he played a
pivotal role in the creation of the Internet. Perhaps he overstated the point,
but at least way back in the early '90s he could answer the question, "What's
the Internet?" I wonder how John McCain would have responded back then.
There are probably enough people in this country that aren't comfortable with
technology to give McCain a pass on this one. But he won't get one from me.
Whoever is running this country and dealing with our global, digitally
connected economy, the network of Internet-connected terrorist organizations,
and the legions of increasingly techno-savvy third-world nations had better
eat, drink, and sleep technology.
I don't know if that's Obama, either, but it's clear from McCain's own words
that it certainly isn't him.
Copyright (c) 2008Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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