Reader comments: Fellow Hanoi Hilton 'guest' says McCain's age not an issue

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David | 7:10 a.m. Sept. 8, 2008
I would also like to add that life expectancy is almost entirely based on the infant mortality rate. Infant mortality in the U.S. has decreased from more than 100 per 1,000 in 1920 to 10.9 today. During this same time, life expectancy has been said to have increased from 54 to 74 years.

At first glance it looks like people are living 20 years longer now than in the past. But this figure is misleading because it is just an average. It could mistakenly lead you to think that in 1920 most people lived to approximately 54 years of age and that now they live to approximately 74. This is not the case. Furthermore, McCain’s age is perhaps less of a health issue than Obama’s smoking.

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