Mich. poll: Race, age are others' issues

Mich. poll: Race, age are others' issues

Survey shows a larger percentage of voters expect concerns to affect McCain than Obama.

Charlie Cain and Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau

Only a small percentage of Michigan voters is willing to say Barack Obama's race will be a factor in their vote for president, but a larger segment says John McCain's age is a concern.

A Detroit News/WXYZ-Action News poll shows 22 percent of likely voters say McCain's age -- he'll be 72 next month -- will affect their choice for president in November, and 83 percent think age will be a negative consideration for other voters.

"I think McCain's a little too old. People are looking for change and looking for somebody younger with the energy to be able to get us out of the slump we're in," said Virginia Kay, a retired bookkeeper from Detroit. "As you get old, the body slows down and you have to gracefully accept it. As much as you try, health problems sometimes kick in."

While 5 percent of Michigan voters admit Obama's African-American heritage will play a role in their own vote -- either for or against him -- 77 percent believe other voters will be less likely to support him because of his race.

"I'm voting for Obama but a lot of people have in mind the controversy with he and his minister," said Suzanne Stafford, 53, who lives in Rochester Hills and is caring for her mother full time.

"I hear a lot of people say race will have no effect, but when you are in that tiny voting booth and the curtains close, I think a lot of people will say they don't want an African-American for president.

"Race has gotten heated up again, the black-white thing, especially in the city of Detroit."

Obama is the first African-American to be the presumptive nominee of a major party for president, so a candidate's race is a new election dynamic.

Barbara Robinson, a 53-year-old homemaker from Grand Rapids who takes care of three grandchildren, said Obama's race should have nothing to do with his qualifications.

"He may not be as experienced as McCain, but McCain is too much old-school and the country's been run like that for too many years," Robinson said. "I know for some people prejudice is still there. But I think in the last few years it's starting to change. This new generation takes people for who they are."

David Bositis, senior research associate at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on issues of concern to people of color, said: "Many people have moved beyond race so it's not a big deal for them. I don't know I'd go so far as to say people are color-blind, but I think first of all, fortunately for Obama, this election is really not about him. This election is about George Bush.

"If I were offered the choice between being black and having George Bush hung around my neck, I'd pick being black."

The debate over age is certainly not new to presidential politics. Ronald Reagan heard it in 1980, when at 69 he became the oldest man to be elected president, and again in 1984, when he won a second term at 73. John Kennedy heard it too, in 1960, when at age 43 he was elected America's youngest president.

About 35.5 million people, or 12 percent of the U.S. population, are over age 65. Someone who turns 65 today can expect to live another 19 years.

Thomas Prohaska, co-director of the Center for Research on Health and Aging at the University of Illinois in Chicago, said age cuts both ways: Wisdom and sense of history are usually attributable to age, but vigor and vitality to youth.

"Chronological age per se is not a consideration," he said. "But one thing that bears watching is the physical energy of both men. I think you can see, at least from outward appearances, that Obama has considerable and boundless energy that doesn't come across with McCain."

McCain, who has had three bouts with melanoma, spent 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and as a result of poor treatment can't lift his arms over his head. But Thomas Ronayne, a 64-year-old software engineer from Detroit, said he's an enthusiastic McCain supporter.

"Look at his mom. She's 96 years old and feisty as all get-out. The medical folks say he's fine. I think anybody who can get through the Hanoi Hilton, come out alive and not too screwed up, is just fine," he said.