# Obama ridicules McCain's disability **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 13, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493 "2008-09-13T22:30:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/61 "2008-09-14T01:13:57Z")
> [@Linear\_Crack](#): > > First Biden asks a guy in a wheelchair to stand up, then this genius ad from former messiah himself. Not a wise move. Have you even been paying attention to the debate here? There is nothing about this ad that isn’t valid. It has absolutely nothing to do with anyone’s disability. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/62 "2008-09-14T01:17:27Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I have a question: if McCain doesn’t like computers and/or can’t use them easily, why should he bother trying to use one? Ask McCain that. He keeps saying that he’s tryin to learn how. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/63 "2008-09-14T01:20:15Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I have a question: if McCain doesn’t like computers and/or can’t use them easily, why should he bother trying to use one? He’s a freakin’ Senator. He has a staff that can get him all kinds of info at the drop of a hat. If I was a Senator I wouldn’t deal with the contraptions except maybe to email and shop. I’d send my minions off into cyberspace to retrieve things to my heart’s content. Really? This is 2008, isn’t it? Not being willing to use a computer is a noble thing? Make your lackey’s do the computerizing? You know computers aren’t room sized contraptions run off punch-card’s anymore. You couldn’t piss in the wind these days without getting a computer wet. We really want someone who refuses to, or is unable to, learn how to use a computer in the executive office? What else does he refuse to learn? How to heat up his Muselix in one of those fancy-schmancy microwave machines? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/64 "2008-09-14T01:23:02Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Really? This is 2008, isn’t it? Not being willing to use a computer is a noble thing? Make your lackey’s do the computerizing? You know computers aren’t room sized contraptions run off punch-card’s anymore. > > You couldn’t piss in the wind these days without getting a computer wet. > > We really want someone who refuses to, or is unable to, learn how to use a computer in the executive office? > > What else does he refuse to learn? How to heat up his Muselix in one of those fancy-schmancy microwave machines? Whoa there, pardner. You want McCain to be able to PUSH THE BUTTON _faster_? Maybe it’s better to put another human being between him and the launch commands. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/65 "2008-09-14T01:24:01Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Really? This is 2008, isn’t it? Not being willing to use a computer is a noble thing? Make your lackey’s do the computerizing? You know computers aren’t room sized contraptions run off punch-card’s anymore. > > You couldn’t piss in the wind these days without getting a computer wet. > > We really want someone who refuses to, or is unable to, learn how to use a computer in the executive office? > > What else does he refuse to learn? How to heat up his Muselix in one of those fancy-schmancy microwave machines? Yes yes. He’s old. We get it. I think the issue is fair game for ads because McCain has talked about it, but I doubt he needs to be able to use a computer to be president. Quite a few presidents have done just fine without them. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/66 "2008-09-14T01:28:57Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > If he can write, he can use a mouse. He doesn’t need to type. What was the last post that you wrote using the mouse and not the keyboard? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/67 "2008-09-14T01:30:09Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > Quite a few presidents have done just fine without them. Other than Reagan, and he was president at the dawn of the microcomputer era, who? These days, not being computer literate is a disability in and of itself. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/68 "2008-09-14T01:30:13Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > What was the last post that you wrote using the mouse and not the keyboard? Must be why I never see John McCain post on this message board. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/69 "2008-09-14T01:32:57Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Other than Reagan, and he was president at the dawn of the microcomputer era, who? > These days, not being computer literate is a disability in and of itself. I’m honestly asking this, but how so? I’m sure he can understand the basic concepts of computers well enough to handle making policy decisions regarding them. Why is it necessary for John McCain to be able to answer an e-mail or perform a google search? Having the staff handle actual computer usage really doesn’t seem inappropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/70 "2008-09-14T01:33:07Z")
> [@Atomicktom](#): > > I’m not understanding how an inability to raise your arms above your shoulders means one cannot type on a computer. I read here that he was short. I never suspected he was _that_ short. Even my 3yo daughter does not need to rise her hands above her shoulders to type. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/71 "2008-09-14T01:35:50Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I have a question: if McCain doesn’t like computers and/or can’t use them easily, why should he bother trying to use one? He’s a freakin’ Senator. He has a staff that can get him all kinds of info at the drop of a hat. If I was a Senator I wouldn’t deal with the contraptions except maybe to email and shop. I’d send my minions off into cyberspace to retrieve things to my heart’s content. I suppose you could use the same argument about reading and writing. He could have things read to him and dictate. But that’s not the point is it? The point is that the fact that he knows nothing about using a computer makes him ignorant of something which is considered basic knowledge in our times and which kids learn in school. That is what the ad is pointing out. Just the fact. Each one can make their own conclusions. If you think it does not matter then fine. But if you think you would prefer a president somewhat more literate then that might be one point in favor of voting for the literate candidate rather than the illiterate one. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/72 "2008-09-14T01:36:21Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > Yes yes. He’s old. We get it. > > I think the issue is fair game for ads because McCain has talked about it, but I doubt he needs to be able to use a computer to be president. Quite a few presidents have done just fine without them. I’m not arguing that John Adams needed better tech skills. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/73 "2008-09-14T01:39:28Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > I assume you have a reason why voice recognition is so bad? Or are you just talking out your ass? > > Also I assume you have justification for why McCain is okay with innocent people being sent off to be tortured in the same manor that he was that left him so hobbled. Still wondering the answers to these questions. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/74 "2008-09-14T01:39:45Z")
If Johnny Mac is computer literate or no is the least of my worries. I don’t worry he can’t use a computer, I’m worried what he might use it for. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/75 "2008-09-14T01:40:12Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I’m not arguing that John Adams needed better tech skills. But why does John McCain need to have the ability to use a computer to be president? As I said, as long as he has the basic knowledge to handle policy decisions regarding the technology, what good does it do the president to be able to answer e-mails? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/76 "2008-09-14T01:41:39Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > What was the last post that you wrote using the mouse and not the keyboard? Jeez, you can find the software easily. Just display a keyboard on the monitor and click on the letters and symbols. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/77 "2008-09-14T01:42:57Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > As I said, as long as he has the basic knowledge to handle policy decisions regarding the technology, what good does it do the president to be able to answer e-mails? I think that’s the real angle Obama needed to attack. Not McCain’s simple ability to use a computer, but his knowledge of what a computer is. Is he savvy with the Internet and its impact on the US and the world? Or does he think it’s a series of tubes? Obama’s been pointing at the latter, I think, but in a roundabout way, by saying McCain doesn’t know how to use one. But knowing how to use one is more or less irrelevant to whether or not he understands computers and their role today. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/78 "2008-09-14T01:47:38Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Aside from the bullshit OP, I gotta say that attacking McCainn for not being able or willing to use a computer is risky. > > There are millions and millions of people out there, most of them 50 or older, who are terrified of computers and won’t touch them. They are likely to sympathize with McCain over this, they will not like being told they are idiots and out of touch, and they are the demographic with the highest voter turnout percentage. > > But as to the actual point of the OP – total bullshit. This is exactly what I’ve been thinking. I wonder how many independents or undecideds there are, who are computer-illiterate, or who don’t think being computer literate is that important. Obama already has the youth vote; he already has the computer-literate vote. This ad could come back to bite him. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/79 "2008-09-14T01:47:49Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I think that’s the real angle Obama needed to attack. Not McCain’s simple ability to use a computer, but his knowledge of what a computer is. Is he savvy with the Internet and its impact on the US and the world? Or does he think it’s a series of tubes? Obama’s been pointing at the latter, I think, but in a roundabout way, by saying McCain doesn’t know how to use one. But knowing how to use one is more or less irrelevant to whether or not he understands computers and their role today. Agreed. Simply attacking him on using computers only serves as an attempt to paint him as out of touch. Stick him on not understanding the _impact_ of computers. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493/80 "2008-09-14T01:48:01Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > But why does John McCain need to have the ability to use a computer to be president? As I said, as long as he has the basic knowledge to handle policy decisions regarding the technology, what good does it do the president to be able to answer e-mails? While emailing or any computer skills whatsoever are not requirements to be president, the Obama ad was using this and other claims to argue that McCain is out of touch with the common voter. Most Americans who have an office job likely have some degree of familiarity with a computer and a few basic programs like word processing. [55%](http://pewinternet.org/PPF/r/257/report_display.asp) of Americans have high-speed internet at home and the percentage of Americans who have a rudimentary ability to use the internet is likely at 75% or more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-ridicules-mccains-disability/463493.md?page=5)