Intellectual Property Law

Senator John McCain appeared on Saturday Night Live this week, where he managed to make fun of his own age at the same time as he hawked his policy platforms.

His campaign immediately posted the two clips of his appearances on the web. Their presence enables the campaign, however serendipitously, to gently parry the meme that's developing online concerning his age.

One of the sites is this encyclopedic reader-driven blog "Things Younger Than Republican Presidential Candidate (Oh, And Did I Forget To Mention War Hero?) John McCain."

And here are just a few of the things, ranging from inventions, to people and cultural landmarks, that are listed: Velcro; LSD; the Golden Gate Bridge; Scientology; the slinky; spam (the real thing;) The Lincoln Tunnel; the telephone area code and penicillin.

The blog's anonymous author has already received several complaints about the site being ageist. But the author argues that the blog's point is justified because of the physical limitations that come with age.

McCain is 72 this year. If he wins the general election in November, he'll be the oldest  president ever to be sworn in for his first term in office. (Note, however, that there are plenty of other world leaders who are older than McCain.)