“Blogs have been buzzing recently over McCain’s admission that when it comes to the Internet, ‘I’m an illiterate who has to rely on his wife for any assistance he can get.’ And the 71-year-old presumptive Republican presidential nominee, asked about his Web use last week by the New York Times, said that aides ‘go on for me. I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself,'” The Associated Press reports.
AP asks. “How unusual is it for a 71-year-old American to be unplugged?”
“That depends on how you look at the statistics. Only 35 percent of Americans over age 65 are online, according to data from April and May compiled by the Pew Internet Project at the Pew Research Center,” AP reports. “But when you account for factors like race, wealth and education, the picture changes dramatically. ‘About three-quarters of white, college-educated men age over 65 use the Internet,’ says Susannah Fox, director of the project.”
AP reports, “McCain spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan presented a somewhat updated picture when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday: ‘He’s fully capable of browsing the Internet and checking Web sites,’ Buchanan said. “‘He has a Mac and uses it several times a week. He’s working on becoming more familiar with the Internet.'”
“As for McCain’s Democratic rival, Barack Obama is 46, and thus in an age group where fully 85 percent of Americans are plugged in,” AP reports. “A CNN clip available on YouTube shows him so engrossed with his Blackberry while crossing a street that he bumps into the curb.”
AP reports, “One blogger opined last week that all the fuss is silly. McCain, wrote Newsweek’s Andrew Romano, hasn’t become computer literate because he hasn’t needed to. ‘When aides are responding to your messages and briefing you on every imaginable subject, the incentive to get online sort of disappears,’ he wrote.”
More in the full article here.
[UPDATE: 2:59pm EDT: According to a Newsweek article published in February, Obama also uses a Mac: “Michelle [Obama] recently bought two MacBook laptops, one for Barack and one for the kids, so they could have video chats over the Internet.” Full article here.]
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “WalterKovacs” for the heads up.]
Work on that Internet thing, John; at least you have a Mac. And get an iPhone, Barak; you’ll instantly wonder why you ever thought you “loved” your BlackBerry.
Add McCain and Obama to the list of confirmed Mac users that includes President George Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Al Gore, Karl Rove, John Kerry, Moby, and tens of millions more…
How embarrassing for Apple. Two most unqualified men in America running for president use their products.
Gack
@Southern Voter,
is being a racist D*CKHEAD hard work for you, or does it just come naturally?
MDN, you REALLY need to monitor your blog better than this.
“Moby”
LOL!
Obama’s racist preacher and advisor probably writes his White-hating diatribes on a Mac, too.
Michelle uses her Mac to write about how the White man enslaved her ancestors and how much she hates “Whitey” today.
Obama uses his Mac to write about how much he despises his White grandparents.
Yep, I’d have to agree there is a lot of racism in this political campaign!!!
@Southern Voter…
“If I knew then what I know now, I would’ve picked my own cotton.”
If you knew then what you know now, you wouldn’t even know how to pick cotton.
Quad Bore said: “I am not voting against Obama because of his skin color. I am voting against him for being a liberal, a big spender, a supporter oh high gas prices, his idiotic stance regarding national security, his lack of experience, his relationships with dodgy people, his high spending tendencies, and his fondness for earmarks.”
For me, it’s those little ears. How could he hear anything with those!?!
gZERO (the zero) said: “@Southern Voter, is being a racist D*CKHEAD hard work for you, or does it just come naturally?
MDN, you REALLY need to monitor your blog better than this.”
Yeah, who is MDN to allow free speech at its site. I hear these guys are really chinese secret agents using PCs.
Hey, another slow day at the hit counter solved!!!!
“‘He has a Mac and uses it several times a week.”
Apparently he forgot. Yeah, let’s put this guys finger on the trigger.
“I am not voting against Obama because of his skin color. I am voting against him for being a liberal, a big spender, a supporter oh high gas prices, his idiotic stance regarding national security, his lack of experience, his relationships with dodgy people, his high spending tendencies, and his fondness for earmarks.”
And the Republican Bush admin has really done wonders to gas prices, national security and public spending, not to mention all those dodgy people in there…
Irony is dead, indeed.
on display in this thread: the artful & erudite nature of the american political system in 3 … 2 … 1 …
release the hounds!
Actually, If he needs email he will need to keep his blackberry…mobileme is down and will be down for 3-4 days per Apple’s own cust serv team….he’s a business user so he can’t afford shoddy, quasi-push service
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McCain is an old dodderer. Conservatives were truly skunked by libs voting for him in the primaries, to the demise of Mitt Romney. Romney would have whacked Obama into a cocked hat in the general election. Obama is a socialist.
Now we have two libs running. Which is the best of two bad choices. Sadly – McCain.
What does Mitt use?
@Sir Gill Bates:
At least there will be munitions to defend this nation if McCain is in office. Obama would really like Superman to fly all our defenses to the sun so they’ll be destroyed, with our nation soon to follow.
jimmymac,
“Us Republican’s use Macs because we’re smarter than you dumb ass DemocRats.”
Your writing looks like another result of ‘No Child Left Behind’.
jimmymac: Us Republican’s use Macs because we’re smarter than you dumb ass DemocRats.
beautiful, just beautiful. you are the irony king of the internet.
you’re prize is on it’s way.
I’m surprised either one actually uses a computer. They have so many people doing things for them, it really isn’t necessary for them to do it.
@Quadcore..
I’m with you. Also, I think Obama’s message of hope is inspiring..but we need solutions at this point not inspirational speeches devoid of the necessary experience needed to move the country forward.
“McCain is yet another Republican candidate who can’t do it for himself and has no clue what it’s like to live in the 21st century.”
hey at least unlike Bush, McGrumpy can actually read….
Maginary,
From what I’ve seen, this nation uses it’s munitions to bully the rest of the world and declare war on anyone it feels like.
Maybe if we didn’t have all of those munitions we wouldn’t be such a bunch of egotistical, self-centered braggarts.
Maybe then we would try to cooperate and work with the rest of the world. Maybe then we would get off our asses and solve some of our many problems and quit blaming them on everyone else.
Don’t blame Obama for this countries demise. Blame those who are truly responsible: Every damn one of us.
Uh oh, Uh Oh said: “And the Republican Bush admin has really done wonders to gas prices, national security and public spending, not to mention all those dodgy people in there….”
‘Scuse me Lucy, but gas has risen 75% since the DEMOCRATIC congress took control TWO YEARS ago!!!
And they plan on raising gas taxes as well. Look it up.
You dummy you.
I’m voting for Romney.
C’mon people. Step it up. These ridiculous, meaningless comments aren’t going to just write themselves.
EV all the way.
Ha ha ha.
Suck gas you suckers of gas.
Re: Barak uses a BlackBerry
It’s African-AmericanBerry people. Please, haven’t Jeremiah Wright, Michael Pfleger and Jesse Jackson taught you anything???
P.S. – Ampar. Yeah this will hit 5 pages, but the REAL question is how soon?
You wager noon tomorrow? (APPL time)