The reality is that there is a world of difference between between a presidential candidate having relevant experience and a vice predidential candidate having that experience. I don't think that any presidential candidate, Republican or Democrat, has picked his running mate primarily with an eye toward the possibility that he may die in office and will be succeeded (despite what the candidates may say publicly), so it seems a little unfair to ding the GOP on that now.

Ketone:

The reality is that there is a world of difference between between a presidential candidate having relevant experience and a vice predidential candidate having that experience. I don't think that any presidential candidate, Republican or Democrat, has picked his running mate primarily with an eye toward the possibility that he may die in office and will be succeeded (despite what the candidates may say publicly), so it seems a little unfair to ding the GOP on that now.

The thing is, up until now, no presidential candidate, Republican or Democrat, has been 72 years old with a history of melanoma. Given that, I think it's more than fair to ding the GOP on that now. The "heartbeat away from the presidency" meme has never been more appropo.

PerryA:

The thing is, up until now, no presidential candidate, Republican or Democrat, has been 72 years old with a history of melanoma. Given that, I think it's more than fair to ding the GOP on that now. The "heartbeat away from the presidency" meme has never been more appropo.

Well, my response to that is that if folks are that worried about McCain dying in office, then don't vote for him. They should be voting for president, not for vice-president with the expectation tha the president will die.