KEY POINTS:
One of my journalist colleagues pointed out today that there has been a lot of talk about whether the United States is ready for its first black or first woman President - but not nearly as much chatter about whether it's ready for its oldest ever first-time President. John McCain would be this if he was elected.
McCain is already in his early 70s and older than Ronald Reagan was when he first became President. The age thing could play out in a variety of ways. If McCain goes up against Hillary Clinton for President, I don't imagine his age will mean much. She's 60. But if he goes up against Barack Obama there will be a stark contrast in both age and experience. Obama is 46. Older voters might be happier with McCain, but it's already been shown that younger voters are embracing Obama. For Obama, it could all come down to whether he can get those younger voters to actually turn out on election day - they are notoriously difficult to shift to cast their votes.
There are just so many dynamics at play in this year's election, so many ways in which it is historic.
This afternoon we went to the Yale Club to hear from Yale's Assistant Professor of Political Science Ange-Marie Hancock. She said it was the first time in 80 years that both the Republicans and the Democrats had had truly open contests for their nominees. Not since the 1960s had there been a desire among voters in both parties for such dramatic change from the status quo. As she put it, not since that Kennedy period had there been this level of soul-searching among Americans.
All of which sets up a really interesting race. It's starting to be pretty much accepted in Democrat circles that that party's contest will go beyond Super Tuesday. Of course polls can be wrong and we could all be surprised - look at the New Hampshire vote last month, which Obama was supposed to win by double digits but Clinton topped him. California officials are warning also that the vote from that state might not be fully counted until Wednesday, meaning we could be left hanging beyond tomorrow.
Hancock said McCain's strategists should be trying to find a way to reach younger voters. Both Clinton and Obama have been using You Tube a lot for their campaigns, but she noted that McCain had been much lower profile in those sorts of forums which are populated by young people.
Asked who would have the best chance of winning the Presidency for the Democrats - Obama or Clinton - Hancock said she thought Obama might actually have the easier ride. That is because negative views of Clinton are strong. In polls, a big chunk of people say they have a negative view of her. Obama's negatives in the same polls are far lower.
The venue for our chat with Hancock, the Yale Club, was an interesting location to find myself in. It's a building right in the heart of Manhattan which is owned by Yale and is set aside for the use of alumni. It includes a hotel which has discount rates, so that Yale alumni can stay there when they come into New York from out of town. Other top universities like Harvard and Princeton have similar buildings in New York. It's somewhat different in the world of Ivy League universities to our own in New Zealand!
