Comments on: “I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself”

By: Jim Harrison

Jim Harrison — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:24:22 +0000

Granted his record as a pilot, I’d be running for cover if McCain we’re coming in for a landing on my aircraft carrier.

McCain’s experience in the Navy is largely irrelevant to his fitness to be president–as Clark accurately pointed out, he never made command decisions under pressure–but he was, in any case, a mediocre officer who was only an officer in the first place because his dad and granddad were admirals. His entire career has been a monument to nepotism.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:50:41 +0000

And by the way: “Joe the Plumber” – is no plumber, just another lie from the anti-educational troglodyte John McCain. —this is the anti-education soundbite of a lifetime.
In Toledo, Ohio you do not need to have a license to be a plumber. Joe is studying for his exam to get a license. Joe HOPES to start his business one day. Joe Behar-major obama supporter- aka the HAG- called his dream a fantasy.
secondly, mccain is keenly aware of blogs and how to use the internet to his advantage. havent you seen the 20,000 anti obama websites.
mccain’s problem is money not knowledge.

By: Speedy Gonzalez

Speedy Gonzalez — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:29:02 +0000

And by the way: "Joe the Plumber" – is no plumber, just another lie from the anti-educational troglodyte John McCain.

By: Speedy Gonzalez

Speedy Gonzalez — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:09:10 +0000

Kurt, this kind of logic is what you could expect from an anti-educational troglodyte and his supporters – a complete misunderstanding of the whole question.

This is not about who is better on this or that, it’s a question about basic knowledge, crucial for leading a modern country successfully.

Sure, McCain can try to run the United States of America from an F-15 Eagle cockpit at 65,000 ft, but he will surely not be able to understand the life of Joe the Plummer, as he claims he do.

The rest of us better get helmets and shelters, in case The Old Man fall asleep.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:44:31 +0000

McCain not be able to use a mac computer but can obama land a jet airplane on an aircraft carrier at night?
I didn’t think so.
See here for a comparison of McCain’s computer and Obama’s computer

http://www.lookingattheleft.com/files/uploads/2008/10/better09.jpg

By: Neil B.

Neil B. — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:37:21 +0000

Andre, maybe you have a point but McCain should at least know how to use the Internet and computers as well, even if not an “addict.” The bad effects Carr notes are debatable, and even then the skimming etc. that he and others criticize is something subject to self-discipline: I don’t see any reason to believe it’s a necessary or even simply “probabilistic” result like the dangers of smoking. No, his lack of contact is a deficiency for a Leader of the Free World in this age.

By: Andre

Andre — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:06:23 +0000

Being “plugged in” does not a profound person make. Having lost the ability to properly relate to parents, siblings, friends and students, due to the constant inane and interruptive chatter of their cellphone calls, text messages, and blackberries, I would consider McCain’s resistant attitude to be rather in his favor.

In fact, required reading for all who would criticise McCain’s web-avoidance is the following article:

Is Google Making Us Stupid? – July/August 2008 Atlantic Monthly

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google

In short, the author’s thesis, quite convincingly argued, is that “what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away [our] capacity for concentration and contemplation.”

By: Gest

Gest — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:02:54 +0000

@Clara
Good luck on the swim…

By: Gest

Gest — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:00:45 +0000

@Clara
1. Do we really have a concern about his attitude towards America’s internet interest? I suspect America has other interests he is not fluent in, but still think we will be ok.
2. The presidency – and all it represents – is so immense that internet aware or not, most (if not close to all) of the information the president has is given to him is second hand, analyzed, filtered, condensed, etc… I wonder how many presidents back we would have to go to find a president that has actually opened an envelope to read a piece of mail; one that was not touched by another hand nor read by another pair of eyes first.
3. …um… I think the presidency is all set when it comes to its communication needs – peace time or nuclear winter time. Love my Blackberry but it is not the first thing I would grab when the sky fell.
E-mail=reading/writing. Hmm… So, if you cannot e-mail, you are akin to an illiterate person of a few hundred years ago? I know few people with ink stained fingers that would disagree with that assessment and back it up.

I do agree that we have had a lack of intelligence currently in the presidency.

By: Clara

Clara — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:22:14 +0000

I think a few people are missing the point. McCain’s inability to use modern technology does not make him stupid. However, intelligence is not the only necessary qualification for the presidency (in recent years, it seems it has not been any sort of qualification whatsoever…). A president must be able to take in a lot of information and make good and reasoned decisions on difficult issues, which certainly requires intelligence, and he must also communicate properly: to his constituents, to his staff, to foreign leaders, etc. Personally, I see internet and computer illiteracy to be a problem in both these areas:

1) As previously mentioned, his unfamiliarity with computers and the internet may cause him to underestimate their importance in global society. Does unfamiliarity necessarily rule out his ability to understand the importance? No. However, to me it seems a lot more likely, especially since he seems to be little interested in being sympathetic to America’s internet interests, even if he can not be empathetic.

2) It’s true, McCain probably could get by on advice and information from his staff, but the problem is that he would always always always be getting his information second-hand. I realize that a lot of things come to the president’s desk, and a lot of times information has to be relayed in compressed memo-form, but I think there is a difference between choosing to get information from your staff for efficiency purposes and being required to do so under any circumstances because you are not capable of using the internet. It’s like in college when you consider scheduling two classes at the same time: sure, you may not plan on going to class all that often, but it’s nice to have the opportunity to go if there’s something that needs further reinforcement.

3) As president, McCain would need to be on top of things all the time. His technology illiteracy would be a huge burden in terms of communication. Imagine if some sort of crisis occurs, and he’s having to communicate with people across the country or across the globe via his assistant’s BlackBerry. Email is now akin to being able to read and write a few hundred years ago. Sure, it’s possible to get by just fine without it. But not so much as the leader of the free world.