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Originally Posted by kagenaki koe
there is uproar in the blogosphere over Obama's new ad where it says that John McCain doesnt even know how to use a computer (not entirely true of course)
the main uproar though is *cue POW card again* McCain's injuries prevent him from really being able to use a computer. this will probably make it back into the real news outlets (even those that pretend to be real news) with screams of low blow/gutterball/apologize/show deference etc.
on a few of the posts, couldn't help it, i just started to reply with stuff like : Well Stephen Hawking still reads and sends emails / even blind people are capable of going on the web.
am i out of line in this thought?
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I don't think you are out of line. It seems that as a result of his POW injuries his arms don't fully extend. But as I sit here on my laptop, my arms aren't fully extended. This, from
Vanity Fair, gives a fair account of his physical disabilities:
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McCain’s right knee still has limited flexibility. Most of the time this is not too noticeable, but McCain mounts the steps onto planes with a herky-jerky gait. A climb up dozens of steps at the New Hampshire International Speedway, in Loudon, leaves him badly winded and sweating profusely. Because his broken arms were allowed to heal without ever being properly set, to this day McCain cannot raise his arms above his shoulders. He cannot attend to his own hair. An aide is often nearby with a comb and small can of hair spray.
McCain has difficulty putting on his suit jacket unassisted. Once, as we prepared to get out of a cramped airplane cabin in Burlington, Vermont, where McCain would be greeted by the governor, I turned my back for a moment, only to find him struggling. He could sense that his collar was all bunched up, and asked me matter-of-factly to help him straighten it out. I felt the pang that those around McCain feel whenever they realize the extent of his injuries. “You comb someone’s hair once,” his 2000 communications director, Dan Schnur, says, “and you never forget it.”
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Of course it is debilitating to not have full use of your arms. But I doubt very much it is debilitating to the extent that he is unable to use a keyboard. So, imo, if that is the real reason the Repubs are giving for not being "able" to use a computer, it is a really pathetic one.
The fact is, he is of a generation where technology has moved so fast it has overtaken them. He is 5 months younger than my dad, who occasionally uses a computer to play solitaire because we bought him one and it is sat in the corner of his dining room, but doesn't even use email, because it is waaaaay to freaky for him - he just doesn't get it. And my dad was an airline/electronics engineer!