The Arizona Republic ponders the effect of Senator McCain’s age and the 2008 election:

Sen. John McCain marks his 70th birthday today, a factor that he and his supporters hope won’t discourage many happy returns when the nation picks a new president.

Election Night returns, that is.

Forget a birthday party. This is about the Republican Party and the Arizona senator’s chances of becoming the GOP’s standard-bearer against a field of likely younger candidates in 2008 and then winning the White House to become the nation’s oldest first-term president ever.

Whether McCain’s age becomes an issue if he runs in two years, when he turns 72, may depend on whether voters see him as not only politically fit for the job but simply fit: healthy enough to take on the rigors of the Oval Office.

Ronald Reagan broke the age barrier when he ran and won his first term at age 69 and then his second term at 73.

I do not believe that age will be a factor for Sen. McCain in the 2008 race. The voting populace itself is aging, so any mention of the Senator’s age as a negative runs the risk of upsetting this key voting bloc.