Really? To me, he’s the one who looked most like crap. Those 12 years in the White House seemed to age him at least 25. Of course, Wilson gives him a run for his money; he looks like a kid in his twenties in the first picture, and a distinguished middle-aged elder statesman in the second.
But realistically, there’s no way that just from looking at a picture you can distinguish those external effects from the normal aging process–especially when you’re comparing two pictures of differing sharpness, taken under different light conditions, etc. For example, the “before” shot of FDR in that series makes him look surprisingly old because the lighting emphasizes the bags under his eyes, whereas in the “after” shot they’re hidden behind his glasses.
FWIW, McCain’s father died at the age of 70, and his paternal grandfather at 61.
What do the several bouts with cancer do to the tables? Do the actuarials take that into account?
The actuary quoted in the article TroutMan posted did take it into account:
Uh … FDR ought to appear dead in his after picture.
He’s pining for the fjords.
Very true, but in both their cases, there were circumstances which likely contributed to their deaths. McCain’s grandfather was severely underweight (100 pounds) at the end of WW2, and requested home leave to recuperate, but his commanding officer (Adm. Halsey) insisted that he attend the Japanese surrender ceremony. He died of a heart attack four days later.
In the case of his father, that Adm. McCain was in command of the Pacific fleet (Vietnam was part of his area of command/responsibility). During the entire period, Sen. McCain was a POW. The admiral knew that his son was a prisoner, and that any attacks he ordered on North Vietnam had a chance of killing his son. I can’t even imagine the degree of stress that this must have caused. I can’t believe this would not have physical effects.
As someone else has already pointed out, prostate cancer - especially that in older men - is today an eminently treatable disease, so long as it’s caught early. However unpleasant or undignified the tests required, I doubt that Sen. McCain refuses to have any medical tests or treatments that his doctors recommend.
As for his mother, I checked, and her father lived well into his nineties, and her mother well into her eighties. With that background, and modern medical care, Roberta McCain could easily live another ten years. In addition, McCain’s paternal grandmother lived to be 83. That’s three out of four grandparents with respectable longevity from an era when average lifespans were much shorter.
It seems to me that the stresses that his father was subjected to in his life most probably had effects, possibly important ones, on his life span. There is no doubt that his grandfather’s life was shortened by events at the end. I would judge that Adm. Halsey provided the final stressor which brought on the fatal heart attack. Remember, heart attacks used to be almost invariably fatal, and he was in extremely poor physical condition at the time.
No, I’m not going to say that McCain would survive 8 years as POTUS, or even 4. JFK didn’t (not an entirely fair example, I know), and there are other examples.
We can’t know whether anyone we elect will survive his (and, I hope someday, her) term in office, but we do know that the president receives the very best medical care - and protection from harm - that is available to anyone. Indeed, better than just about anyone else in the world, with the possible exception of billionaires who worry about their health.
We also know that Sen. McCain has very high energy levels, period. There are numerous reports about how he consistently runs younger people ragged, and puts in very long days. I suggest to you that no actuarial table will take this sort of thing into consideration. Tables are based on averages. For good or ill, if there’s anything average about John McCain, I’m not aware of it.
‘E’s not pinin’! 'E’s passed on! This President is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E’s expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E’s a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed 'im to 'is Oval Office chair 'e’d be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E’s off the twig! 'E’s kicked the bucket, 'e’s shuffled off ‘is mortal coil, run down the curtain and as of 1945 has joined the bleedin’ choir invisible!!
THIS IS AN EX-PRESIDENT!!