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July 15, 2008

"Most voters won't care that John McCain doesn't use e-mail or surf the web." - Inspired by Andrew Romano, Newsweek

Recently, just about everyone online has been bashing John McCain in light of the Presidential hopeful's candid admissions about his computer illiteracy. He doesn't use email or a Blackberry, he needs the help of his wife or his aides to get online, and he has no intention of ever writing a blog.

McCain's failing are even more apparent when contrasted to his younger rival – Obama is well known for using the Internet to further his campaign, and his tech knowledge has been praised by the likes of Lawrence Lessig.

However, some like Andrew Romano of Newsweek, believe that in spite of the fact that McCain can't use "a Google," his tech abilities (or the lack thereof) will not cast a shadow on his capabilities as President.

"McCain's computer illiteracy doesn't reflect a lack of curiosity -- it reflects a lack of necessity. McCain's job in the U.S. Senate--where all communication and information has to be filtered through staffers -- has actually made fluency more difficult to achieve (or at least less necessary); when aides are responding to your messages and briefing you on every imaginable subject, for example, the incentive to get online sort of disappears," writes Romano.

"George W. Bush abandoned email when he was elected president -- national security worries -- and there's no computer in the Oval Office. McCain or Obama would certainly follow suit. Meaning that the 3:00 a.m. call would arrive by telephone. And I think the senator knows how to use one of those," he adds.

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