Friday, October 19, 2007

Too old to cut the mustard

I don't know about you, but I can never get excited about other countries' politics, not that I am much excited about the politics of my own. But something has happened here that I find vaguely sinister.
The leader of our third party, the Liberal Democrats, has resigned. Resigned after a sustained media campaign against him dwelling on the fact that he is in his sixties (in contrast to the youthful Tony Blair, the (relatively) youthful Gordon Brown, and the positively boyish leader of the Conservative party, David Whathisname). In other words, Ming Campbell has effectively been forced out because he is not telegenic, because he doesn't fit the expectations of the television age, because he is "old".
OK, let's put this into perspective. Hillary Clinton is unsuitable because she is a woman. Barak Obama is unsuitable because he is black. Schwarzenegger is unsuitable because he is a foreigner. And X is unsuitable because he is gay. Hurts, doesn't it? So, why should we accept that proposition that Ming Campbell is unsuitable because he is old?
This is perhaps the first time I have felt female, black, foreign and gay. Maybe it's because I am old.

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