Dear Liberal Talk Radio

I've been listening to liberal talk radio lately, which is kind of a departure for me. Normally I don't much care for talk radio simply because of the format, even when I fully agree with the hosts and callers. But in the spririt of adventurousness I'm giving it a fresh try.

But I do have one complaint to make.

Nobody in their right mind would imply that Barack Obama is unsuited to be President because he's black, or Hillary Clinton because she's a woman. We understand that "criticizing" someone for their race or gender is not only morally wrong and quite tasteless, but it is in some respects illegal - the Civil Rights Act lists race, color and gender as three of the protected categories.

But wait a second, isn't age also one of the protected categories? Yep. Sure is. So how come practically every day I hear someone on liberal talk radio say something nasty about John McCain's age? They call him "Grampa McSame" and clearly imply that he's a doddering fool whose first step upon gaining the Oval Office would be to accidentally make a Metamucil stain on the rug.

But come on, people. Either you're serious about civil rights, or you aren't. Make up your minds. Either you respect all of the Civil Rights Act, or you respect none of it.

Not that I want to see John McCain be elected, mind you. I think a McCain presidency would be like a... like a... well, like a thing that's really bad. And his character, temperament, philosophy, political ideas and policies are all fair game for criticism, and personally I think there's more than enough material there to sink his Presidential bid. But attacking him on the basis of his age is tacky and wrong and you should stop immediately.

I have spoken.