McCain's computer illiteracy

Apparently, John McCain doesn't know how to use a computer. Matthew Yglesias finds this odd, contending that it reflects a profound ignorance about the driving force behind the world economy.

Naturally, the McCain campaign has leaped to his defense with eloquence. "You don’t necessarily have to use a computer to understand, you know, how it shapes the country," says Mark SooHoo, McCain's deputy e-campaign manager. "John McCain is aware of the Internet."

I have know idea what this means. I can be aware of the existence of things but not, you know, understand them, and I know of many people who know about computers but can't, you know, use them or understand what they're for. In fact, I have known many such people. Of course, some of these people are indeed quite competent, but they all share one defining characteristic: They are all old.

This little story may have little to say about McCain's character, knowledge of the world, or personal competence as president, but it says much about his age. In a time in which the nation is looking for someone to carry them into the future, a candidate who constantly shows his ties to the past is seriously weakened.

If McCain wants to win, he needs to stop this bleeding, you know, now.