shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

Tired of hearing empty promises from politicians?  Feel like our leaders are just paying lip services to the issues that matter most?  We feel the same way, and that's why we're rolling out a new ad telling the Presidential candidates to stop talking and start doing.  Check it out:

In general, what is the best age for the president of he United States? Is the “best” age for a president in the 40s? 50s? 60s or 70s? CBS News conducted a poll in February that asked this exact question, and found some surprising results.

Just about half of those polled said that the best age for a president to be in office was in their 50s. But of course neither Senator Obama or Senator McCain is in their 50s. Barack Obama is in his 40s and John McCain is in his 70s.

Ok, so what does that mean? Well, 20 percent of those polled said that Barack Obama’s age was just about right while only 2 percent of those polled thought that John McCain’s age was appropriate to be president. So do a majority of people feel that John McCain is too old to be president?

Not exactly. The CBS poll also asked voters if they thought a candidate’s age would be an obstacle to their voting for a candidate. Only 30 percent of those polled said that McCain’s age would be a problem (70 percent didn’t think it would be a problem). But the surprising fact that the CBS News poll points out is that voters under 30 were less likely to view McCain’s age as a problem than were older voters.

Go figure.

Somewhere Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan are looking down on all this and smiling.

I know many have stopped paying attention and are planning their summer vacations. But West Virginia had a Democratic primary and the exit polls continue the trend we’ve seen nearly everywhere – 50 plus voters are half of those who are showing up. In West Virginia, exit polls have 55 percent of the electorate over 55 50 and 63 percent citing the economy as a key issue. A new question also centers on the recession and 89 percent of those who showed up yesterday said they are impacted by the economic downturn.

Sooo… I hear two things here – it’s the economy and it’s 50 plus voters will show up in the fall.

You may have heard that the presidential candidates are interested in holding joint forums with voters. AARP is offering to host them and have sent a letter out to the campaigns telling them. Why you ask? Because going beyond the partisan differences is important, it’s the only way were going to get anything done. It’s also why AARP formed Divided We Fail with a bunch of different organizations who have all come together agreeing to find common ground.

We’ll keep you posted on all of the candidate’s responses.

There’s a really neat website called On Day One that gives you the opportunity to tell the next President what to do on his first day in office. People are blogging, commenting, and vloggging about what they’d like to see come January 2009. There are some topics the site already lays out, mostly focused on foreign policy, but a critical health care mass would be a great thing. Check it out.

Tonight's primary showed us more of what we have already seen. And what's that? 50 plus voters turning out to vote and economic issues topping voters' concerns. According to the exit polls, North Carolina saw 55 percent of the electorate over 50 and in Indiana, 49 percent were 50+. The economy dominated as the top issue, with 61 percent in North Carolina and 67 percent in Indiana naming it as a top concern.

Hmmm... haven't we heard this before? Seems that across the nation there are two things that are pretty consistent - half the electorate is over 50 and the top issue is clearly the economy. Let's hope the candidates are paying attention.

Jonathan Martin of Politico recently wrote about Senator McCain and the issue of age, wondering if age impacts who is voting for the candidate. It seems to me like people are more focused on the issues and the media more focused on the superficial fluff. In fact, as recently as April’s Washington Post-ABC News poll, 70 percent of respondents said Senator McCain’s age makes no difference. So there.

Health care is the theme of the week. Probably one reason is that it is Cover the Uninsured Week. Now why are people uninsured? Lots of reasons – don’t think they need it, don’t think they have access to it, but most important is they can’t afford it.

On the campaign trail, there has been some discussion of the key issue here – the skyrocketing cost of health care. Senator John McCain spoke about it both yesterday and today, emphasizing the role of personal responsibility in health care. No one can dispute the importance of this. In fact, every candidate has a nod to better behaviors (eating less junk, exercising more) in their plans. It’s all good.

But where is this in the national media? Almost nowhere! Instead of the substance focused on the things that impact people’s everyday lives, we are left to tune into the bickering and melodrama that has seemed to envelop the spin cycle. Elizabeth Edwards wrote about it for the New York Times on Sunday, but today we’re still seeing the same old thing play out. Who isn’t sick of it?

As we have seen across the nation, voters 50 plus are a key part of tonight's Democratic race in Pennsylvania. According to exit polls from CNN, 59 percent of those who showed up at the polls were 50 or older. At nearly every state that has held primaries, approximately half of the voters were 50 plus.

The economy continues to dominate, with 55 percent of voters saying it is the issue they are most concerned about. This is consistent with what we have seen with our own members, who are concerned not only about their financial futures, but the financial future of their children and grandchildren.