AGEISM.

The new Wapo/ABC poll showing Obama leading McCain by 12 and Clinton leading McCain by 6 is good news for the Democrats and great news for Obama. More important, though, may be this finding:

"Another obstacle for McCain may be his age. More than a quarter of those polled said they are less inclined to support McCain because he would be the oldest person ever to become president. The percentage discouraged by McCain's age is more than double that of people who would be less enthusiastic about supporting Obama because he is African American or Clinton because she is a woman."

So far, I've thought one of the election's better lines has been Barack Obama's "we honor McCain for his half-century of service." Indeed, in a way that isn't true against Hillary Clinton, Obama can actually try and respond to McCain claims of experience with a Rovian attack at his opponent's strength: McCain's experience is a function of his age, it's the reason he has outdated ideas and can't quite adapt to this new moment in world affairs. No idea if that would actually work, but these poll results suggest it would tap into something the electorate already believes.