What’s on John McCain’s iPod?

Thu, Jun 26, 2008 | by Jimmy Rogers

Since Barack Obama’s iTunes library was recently reported on, let’s take a look at his main competition, Sen. John McCain. It seems that unlike Obama, McCain is completely unfamilier with modern computers. He is self-described as “computer-illiterate.” It makes me shudder to think that any technological decisions he makes will have to come (at least partially) from a big empty space in his head - where the tech should be.

Anyway, it is unclear whether he actually has an iPod or any similar device. Clearly candidates on the road are better off with portable music players, simply because of their size and convenience. McCain once mentioned to some South Carolina reporters that he has some ABBA on his iPod, so it’s possible that he was gifted one or was issued one by his staff. As Jeremy Horowitz of iLounge puts it, “[that may be] as much as needs to be said on the topic of his musical preferences.”

McCain’s apparent lack of technical understanding is fairly predictable, not only from his age, but also from looking at his platform. If you were wondering: NO, technology is not important in any way shape or form to the next election. How do we know this? Well, McCain does not have any permanent section about technology (other than space technology) on his official website - none whatsoever! Clearly if one of the two men running for president doesn’t have a strong stance on something, it’s not an issue.

Oh…wait…Obama’s official website has an enormous section on technology issues and details complex stances on those issues. He seems to be pro-net neutrailty and speaks at length about 1st Amendment rights relating to the internet. It is curious, the disparity between these two sites. I mean, the sites are both on the internet after all…

So what do you think is on John McCain’s iPod? I’m going to wager it is A) a stack of papers B) a cold drink or C) nothing because it is an imaginary iPod.

[Via iLounge] [Image via Statesman.com]

iPod, iTunes, McCain

10 Comments For This Post

perception manager Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 5:51 pm

D) nothing because his Gramophone still boogies!

RangerPrimeX Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 7:13 pm

Unnecessary article with an unnecessary tone. I can find better Political commentary elsewhere.

Jon Fitz Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 7:37 pm

Agreed. And what is with the picture? Very dumb if you ask me.

kdudley Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 8:32 pm

Stay on the subject. Technical information and news about iphones. If you want to talk politics, do it somewhere else. And here’s a small suggestion. Crack open a grammar book once in a while. You might develop a little style. English is a wonderful language.

Jimmy Rogers Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 9:15 pm

I’m sorry to hear several of you didn’t like the article. That’s what comments are for and I’ll certainly take it as constructive criticism.

@kdudley: Thanks for pointing out my grammatical error in such a colorful way. Fixed.

Hunter Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 4:19 am

Jimmy, didn’t you have to give McCain equal time, and that’s Really why you wrote this?

Most people would consider you a legitimate news source, which means you’re subjected to the Communications Act of 1934 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-time_rule), meaning you all at iPhoneFreak are required to give equal coverage to Obama’s opponent, John McCain.

That’s immediately what I thought of when I read this, cause it’s obviously a slanted attempt :0)

Jimmy Rogers Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 9:07 am

@Hunter

No, the equal time rule really didn’t have anything to do with it. First of all, according to the wiki article anyway, the rule only applies to radio and television stations. I would guess that it may apply to major newspapers as well, but generally, small guys like us don’t get subjected to a lot of regulation by the FCC. Those of us in California might have a shot at shield law protection though.

Also, as far as I’m aware, the equal-time rules are really there for politically oriented news. The Obama story really didn’t discuss much more than the Senator’s choice in music. I don’t think human interest stories (even those about political celebrities) fall under equal-time requirements.

If anything, this story is fairly self-contained, as both candidates were mentioned in their own paragraphs. Nothing I’ve said, as far as I am aware, is false. The facts just lend themselves to satire.

Johnny Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 11:04 am

Obama would never eat a hot dog. And if in the unlikely case he did, he wouldn’t be so irresponsible as to let someone photograph him doing it.

On a related note…maybe McCain listens to his old LP’s instead of MP3’s, or maybe he’s just not big into music. Obama’s middle-of-the-road playlist is certainly nothing to brag about, as if Jay-Z and Sheryl Crow are any more interesting than ABBA.

While I was certainly interested to hear what the candidates listen to, it certainly isn’t something that should swing the vote for the the next king of the world.

beadgc23 Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 6:05 pm

I sense the readership here cares about technology, and (not being entirely dim) about their future political leaders. Any story addressing both these issues is, de facto, pertinent and worth its webspace. Kudos to you, Mr. Rogers.

I’m equally sure that Woz, for example, would take exception to your equating age with technological ignorance. There’s plenty of proof on this site that youth does not automatically imbue the possessor with tech savvy, critical skills or, well, grammatical skills either. LOL. WTF.

Jimmy Rogers Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 6:26 pm

@Johnny
It’s true, one decade’s pop music isn’t necessarily better than another’s.

@beadgc23
Of course not everyone of a certain age is automatically a technophobe. There are many people who are getting up there and still can get their geek on. I will say, though, that the number individuals like this is exceedingly small in comparison with the tech illiterate population and even smaller if you take out people who naturally use those skills in their jobs (IT professionals, computer scientists, and inventors of modern computing - like Woz).

I did have a good time chatting with one of my professors who was very geeky by his nature and was only an English professor. Hopefully our generation (speaking as an almost college grad) will have more people like him when we are “in charge,” so to speak.

perception manager Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
D) nothing because his Gramophone still boogies!
RangerPrimeX Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Unnecessary article with an unnecessary tone. I can find better Political commentary elsewhere.
Jon Fitz Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Agreed. And what is with the picture? Very dumb if you ask me.
kdudley Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Stay on the subject. Technical information and news about iphones. If you want to talk politics, do it somewhere else. And here’s a small suggestion. Crack open a grammar book once in a while. You might develop a little style. English is a wonderful language.
Jimmy Rogers Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I’m sorry to hear several of you didn’t like the article. That’s what comments are for and I’ll certainly take it as constructive criticism.

@kdudley: Thanks for pointing out my grammatical error in such a colorful way. Fixed.
Hunter Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 4:19 am
Jimmy, didn’t you have to give McCain equal time, and that’s Really why you wrote this?

Most people would consider you a legitimate news source, which means you’re subjected to the Communications Act of 1934 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-time_rule), meaning you all at iPhoneFreak are required to give equal coverage to Obama’s opponent, John McCain.

That’s immediately what I thought of when I read this, cause it’s obviously a slanted attempt :0)
Jimmy Rogers Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 9:07 am
@Hunter

No, the equal time rule really didn’t have anything to do with it. First of all, according to the wiki article anyway, the rule only applies to radio and television stations. I would guess that it may apply to major newspapers as well, but generally, small guys like us don’t get subjected to a lot of regulation by the FCC. Those of us in California might have a shot at shield law protection though.

Also, as far as I’m aware, the equal-time rules are really there for politically oriented news. The Obama story really didn’t discuss much more than the Senator’s choice in music. I don’t think human interest stories (even those about political celebrities) fall under equal-time requirements.

If anything, this story is fairly self-contained, as both candidates were mentioned in their own paragraphs. Nothing I’ve said, as far as I am aware, is false. The facts just lend themselves to satire.
Johnny Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Obama would never eat a hot dog. And if in the unlikely case he did, he wouldn’t be so irresponsible as to let someone photograph him doing it.

On a related note…maybe McCain listens to his old LP’s instead of MP3’s, or maybe he’s just not big into music. Obama’s middle-of-the-road playlist is certainly nothing to brag about, as if Jay-Z and Sheryl Crow are any more interesting than ABBA.

While I was certainly interested to hear what the candidates listen to, it certainly isn’t something that should swing the vote for the the next king of the world.
beadgc23 Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I sense the readership here cares about technology, and (not being entirely dim) about their future political leaders. Any story addressing both these issues is, de facto, pertinent and worth its webspace. Kudos to you, Mr. Rogers.

I’m equally sure that Woz, for example, would take exception to your equating age with technological ignorance. There’s plenty of proof on this site that youth does not automatically imbue the possessor with tech savvy, critical skills or, well, grammatical skills either. LOL. WTF.
Jimmy Rogers Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
@Johnny
It’s true, one decade’s pop music isn’t necessarily better than another’s.

@beadgc23
Of course not everyone of a certain age is automatically a technophobe. There are many people who are getting up there and still can get their geek on. I will say, though, that the number individuals like this is exceedingly small in comparison with the tech illiterate population and even smaller if you take out people who naturally use those skills in their jobs (IT professionals, computer scientists, and inventors of modern computing - like Woz).

I did have a good time chatting with one of my professors who was very geeky by his nature and was only an English professor. Hopefully our generation (speaking as an almost college grad) will have more people like him when we are “in charge,” so to speak.