Jacksonville, FL (Righcommentary.com): I wasn’t surprised when my April 21 issue of Time arrived with Sen. Barack Obama on the cover. The photo shows the senator as a toddler in his mother’s arms. You know, the mom no one talks about very often, the white mom. Nor was I surprised when I read a rally-the-feministas article expounding on Sen. Hillary Clinton’s legacy in the April 21 issue of New York. It was the New York cover that blew my mind. An inside featurette in Time did the same.

On the cover of the Big Apple’s unofficial glossy, there’s a bulls-eye with Sen. John McCain in the photo. Directly beneath the photo, copy bites use the term ‘Geezer.’ Within the slick pages of Time, there’s a photo comparison of McCain’s peers atop a photo gallery of Obama’s peers. McCain is shown alongside singer Roy Orbison and Rep. Barbara Jordan. Obama’s image rests beside actor Scott Baio and singer Toby Keith.

It’s tempting at this point to veer towards an exploration of the terms propaganda or mobilization of bias, but that would be pointless. The political leanings of both magazines are readily apparent and widely known.

What’s more productive is what wasn’t used for either feature. There are three candidate issues here, and media as well as political strategists have made much of them. Obama rhetoric is most frequently parsed in racial terms with emphasis on the African-American experience. Clinton’s gender is the hot button for females, many of whom have asked me, “How can you NOT vote for her?” Note I do not routinely announce who I vote for, other than to talk about it with my family. We have had many heated debates over candidates in years past and current.

The way I would’ve laid out McCain’s page would veer differently from Time. I might have placed the senator alongside Sen. Ted Kennedy had I not checked his bio. Kennedy, at 76, is older than McCain. More likely I’d have opted for Sen. Harry Reid who, at 69, is closer to McCain. Or maybe Rep. James Clyburn who was elected House Majority Whip in 2006 at the age of 66 and appears to still be going strong. If I wanted to go to an entertainment motif, Mick Jagger would’ve been a natural pick. He still cavorts and emphasizes those infamous lips at 65. If I wanted to choose a business magnate, maybe I’d have opted for Ted Turner who is 70, and whose pursuits with women were emphasized when a woman far younger than he is left her Pulitzer Prize winning husband last year because of Turner. A literary scandal ensued, confirmed by the Pulitzer winner himself.

Conspicuously absent from a discussion some might normally be up in arms about is the AARP, the organization dedicated to preserving rights, respect and dignity for seniors.

It’s been my privilege to know a few seniors. A few years ago I interviewed an 83-year-old writer who’d just published her first book. I ran into her recently at a book festival. I seriously had trouble keeping up with her. “Sorry I’m walking so fast,” she said. Then there was my own grandmother. I recall her running at the age of 84. A rooster had escaped the yard. Then there’s a friend of mine who went to Africa last year to help establish a library. She was at least 82, though I can’t remember her exact age. She’s as spry as I am.

My own genes lean towards longevity and health—all my father’s sisters and brothers lived to ripe old ages and stayed active. Tina Fey’s feminist declaration “Bitch is the new black” has morphed to chestnut status. Someone might tell the strategists, 70 is the new 50. Get over that, get over the race card, accept that we women are driven, career-wise, with abilities equal to males, and get down to the real issue of who has the strength, brains and experience to run the country. Maybe that way we voters could get a little of that Satisfaction those Rolling Stones in their mid-sixties still rock to onstage.

Kay B. Day is a Florida journalist who has provided content to wire services, daily newspapers, websites and magazines. The author of two books and contributor to many others, she also edits the site The US Report. In her other life, Day is a poet. Rightcommentary.com is proud to have her submissions to the weblog as a special contributor and looks forward to regular contributions.