...is beyond mistaken, it is dangerous. This country faces serious privacy and data collection concerns that are not problems in other countries which choose to protect their individual citizens over their corporations.

I'm not advocating that the US should effectively censor the internet, or should completely ban data collection, but there needs to be balance. A president who is likely to veto (or at the very least, be skeptical of) a law that might limit some telecom corporations' rights simply because he doesn't get it? Because its a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, gobbledygook? That's frightening.

PS McCain's "meh, I'm old" argument is weak. My father is 69 years old and trained/worked on the first computer developed by the US Air Force, and went on to IBM thereafter. Hell, my 86 year old grandmother is a downright expert on searching for zany internet videos. The internet's not going anywhere. Educate yourself McCain, you can't make your interns do everything for you.

My mom is almost 70 and she's emailing and using a computer. That Pew statistic quoted in the article is extremely damning; 3/4 of McCain's own demographic - the "old white-haired dudes" as Paris says in her campaign ad - do so much more than McCain can do.

Can he find the ON button on a computer?

It's time to push the OFF button on his campaign.

If he is Internet illiterate, then it is a mark against the candidacy of John McCain.

But there are so many other more important reasons that McCain is not the chief that the world requires.

We need a chief who is serious about admitting mistakes, apologizing, and setting the nation on the path toward making amends.

The USA is responsible for so much harm around the world. So many people have been hurt. Whole societies have been harmed. Even the planet itself suffers under the load of consumption and waste that is part of a culture propagated from the USA.

We can do better. We can create a society that doesn't do harm to itself or to the world.

Too true

It's a tool.

But so too

Are you

Fool.

"Most of us over 35's struggle with technology..."

Speak for yourself.

Do you want leadership or a computer geek to lead our country? Most of us over 35's struggle with technology-- it is a tool not a way of life and certainly not a requirement to lead the USA.

Klytus -

The headgear in question was called a fez in Turkey in reference to the red dye that was associated with the city of Fez. Tarboosh is the Egyptian Arabic term. Is a chapeau different from a hat?

The main point is not what's on anyone's head but what's in it. The important issue is that McCain's ignorance of computers is a sign that he's seriously out of touch with modern technology. How is it irrelevant to his fitness to be president?

What if 2000 years ago there was an illiterate leader who didn't really understand how others could communicate by writing?

Of course, McCain's ignorance includes not knowing the difference between Sunnis and Shi'ites and therefore not able to understand anything about Iran or Iraq or al Qaeda or Afghanistan or Pakistan, just for starters.

I'm still waiting for someone, anyone, to explain exactly what McCain's "foreign policy experience" consists of.

I work in a town hall. The only jobs we could line up for Mr. McCain would be starter at the golf course or maybe shelving books at the library. Any of our jobs in town hall, even administrative assistants, require computer expertise.

Or is there a special kind of stupid commenting from the Right in this thread?

"OK, let me get this right .... there is something seriously wrong with McCain because he isn't a fan of email?" - In this day and age, that's like not being a fan of electricity. Shall we de-computerize communications between Homeland Security and the White House? Let's send urgent messages by pigeon.

"I don't check the blogs very often because it is the same sicko, sicko, radical left wing hate towards anyone but a radical left wing democrat." - You clearly have never been to a Right wing blog. In your post, swap the word "right" for the word "left" and you basically describe yourself.

You guy should do McCain a favor and leave commenting on important topics to people who understand them.

OK, let me get this right .... there is something seriously wrong with McCain because he isn't a fan of email? Given a choice of someone who is busy using email versus someone that has the experience to help save Western civilization from the challenges of terrorism and a resurgent Russia which would I choose? I pick McCain. You can email with Obama all you want.

Seems the far radical left feels McCain doesn't understand the internet. I might add it is the far left writers and bloggers who have nothing to do but slam any person or party with whom they disagree who also only understand the internet as something for their own devious use. I am sure those who try and mess up the internet for others with spam, viruses etc., probably are mostly those who lack the moral ability to respect others the use of the internet. I would guess these bloggers would be the first to suspect.

I don't check the blogs very often because it is the same sicko, sicko, radical left wing hate towards anyone but a radical left wing democrat. I've never figured left wing radicals as purveyors of moral qualities so for starters, it amazes me we should elect our next President as someone who uses Hollywood for his advisors. I've always heard of poor democrats, I guess these hollywood elitists are all considered Hollywood poor people who stumble into someone's else's bed on a regular basis.

It's obvious we should elect an elist who appears to be a god(sorry for the pun) to the entire world. No doubt, we should all change religions (those who have one) to Obama as the future leader of the world. No doubt all the religions (and non-religions) of the world would forever in the future worship only Obama.

The attitudes of the far left remind me of a spoiled kid out tearing around town, making loud noises and being as obnoxious as possible with no concern for the public at large. His only pals are the ones as obnoxious as himself.