Well, it's official. I'm old.

I've been resisting the idea -- even though hot young babes have, for years, called me "Sir." And even though younger colleagues ask me for advice because they see me as an older, wiser mentor. And even though, as I was leaving the barber shop the week before Christmas, my barber called out, "Enjoy your grandchildren over the holidays!"

But now I can no longer deny the reality that I'm old: because yesterday, John Edwards (who's my age)called Barack Obama "a talented young man." (If I was only 46 -- Obama's age -- I'd still be young, I guess. But I'm 54, just like that old guy, John Edwards.)

Actually, both Edwards and Hillary belittled Obama yesterday. Hillary said that he is "an extraordinary, young African-American man with so much to contribute."

Ain't politics grand?

I love reading about the Republican and Democratic campaigns! To demonstrate what a junkie I am: I actually paid attention when Bill Richardson withdrew, for God's sake. Not to mention poor Joe Biden, from my native state ...

As I have voraciously read the New York Times coverage, you know the person I have come to admire the most? John McCain. I have no idea if I'd vote for him, if he's nominated. I very much agree with him on some of his positions, and I'm very much troubled by others. But I am very impressed by how well he knows himself, by his maturity, and by how comfortable he is in his own skin. I think that's why he's the only candidate in either party who hasn't gone negative against his opponents. He has resisted his advisers who have urged him to do so. More than once, when his political handlers have counseled him to tell people what they want to hear when he hasn't agreed with what he would have been telling them, he has responded, "I don't want to be president that badly." (He gave in to such advice, in 2000, by not honestly stating his opposition to the Confederate battle flag that was flying on top of the South Carolina state capital building. He was so concerned with winning the South Carolina primary. But, of course, Karl Rove orchestrated a vicious rumor mill of lies about McCain's family to benefit the eventual nominee, George Bush, and McCain lost anyway. McCain has regretted his cowardice over the flag ever since.)

Crazies like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly attack McCain because they think he's inconsistent in his conservatism. That "inconsistency" simply means that McCain is just like 99% of us real people. How many of us are down-the-line "conservative" or "liberal?" Aren't there lots and lots of people who are against abortion ("conservative") and also think waterboarding is torture ("liberal")? Aren't there lots and lots of people who are proud of the results of the surge in Iraq ("conservative") who also think we should be talking with our enemies in Iran ("liberal")? And what courage McCain showed, in resisting the "conservative" bandwagon endorsing the President's tax cuts because he objected to the fact that the President insisted on increasing spending even as the taxes were being cut. McCain is just a very impressive guy.

On the Democratic side, is there anyone as personally impressive? It's hard to keep track of who Hillary is this week; she's re-invented herself so often. Obama appears to show McCain-like integrity and courage (last night's petulant sniping towards Hillary at the debate excepted). But, really, how can take Obama seriously? He only a young man. He's not old. And seasoned.

Like someone who's my age.