It was Sen. John McCain's turn on Saturday Night Live last weekend.
"What should we be looking for in our next president?" McCain asked during one segment. "Certainly, someone who is very, very, very old."
McCain, a sprightly 71, told the audience he has the necessary "oldness" to serve in the White House.
McCain also appeared on SNL's Weekend Update, urging Democrats to "not under any circumstances pick a candidate too soon."
"I've been to a lot of (national party) conventions, and they're a lot of fun," a bright-eyed McCain said, sometimes holding a laugh in. "But when they end, there's always that empty feeling of, 'Oh well, we picked a nominee, I guess the party's over.' Imagine the excitement of leaving the convention and still not knowing who the nominee was."
He wasn't bad. Got a few zingers in, although too often he looked and sounded like a serious man spicing up his stump speech with a few punchlines.
What you had a chance to see, though, is a candidate willing to run straight at a major negative about his candidacy - his age, and fight it with some humor - hoping some residual coolness will resonate with younger, independent-minded voters.
McCain needs to neutralize the age issue come November, especially if — as seems all but certain — he's paired against the 46-year-old Sen. Barack Obama, whose campaign and its supporters have a level of energy not seen in recent memory.
Ronald Reagan was 69 when he became the oldest person elected president in 1980. During his 1984 re-election campaign, he responded to concerns about his age by joking in a debate that he would not hold his 56-year-old opponent Walter Mondale's "youth and inexperience" against him.
Play nice
State Senate Republicans last week shot down four nominees to fill judicial posts temporarily, including one Supreme Court vacancy, because Gov. Ed Rendell refused to consult with them before naming his picks.
Republicans argued that the state Constitution mandates the governor and the Senate confer before nominees are chosen.
To start the current legislative session on such a sour note does not bode well for upcoming budget negotiations. Because the GOP holds a substantial 29-21 advantage over Democrats in the Senate, Rendell's budget cannot pass without them.
And no doubt, Rendell's going to start beating the drums for alternative energy and health care funding, while Senate Republicans, as they did last year, will maintain a hard line on new taxes or tax increases.
The House is in Democratic control, but only by one vote, which makes getting anything done in that chamber on things like alternative energy and health care difficult at best.
Walking man
Indulge me for a few column inches here while I write about a bill that has some significance in my little world.
The state Senate passed a bill 48-2 last week requiring municipalities along the Appalachian Trail corridor to enact ordinances protecting it within the next year. The Senate tweaked the original version, House Bill 1281, which means it now goes back to the state House for approval. Most likely, it will pass.
The trail is more than 2,000 miles long and stretches from Georgia to Maine. A beautiful, remote section runs across mountains of second-growth forest in Lebanon County. And yet, one of the two senators to vote against the bill was Sen. Mike Folmer, a conservative Republican who represents Lebanon County and a small portion of Lancaster County.
Suburban sprawl, particularly in Cumberland County, is encroaching on what was envisioned in the 1920s and 1930s as a wilderness path.
This bill would ensure that at least a minimal corridor of undeveloped land remains around Pennsylvania's 229 miles of the famous "A.T." to protect it from housing developments and shopping centers.
As some readers of Bird's-Eye View know, I'm an enthusiastic backpacker who's put an uncountable number of bootsteps on the A.T. If you're bored this summer and need a place to hike, head to the Pinnacle and Pulpit Rock up in Berks County or Delaware Water Gap for a sampling of what the A.T. has to offer.
Quotes of the week
"If Sen. Obama becomes our nominee and he wants someone to carry the Clinton banner, there's no question in my mind he should ask Hillary Clinton."
— Gov. Ed Rendell, a Clinton supporter, in an interview with CNN about a suggestion he might be Obama's vice-presidential nominee.
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"My answer is, it's not my job. It's (the Legislature's) job. It's their job to figure out how to fix the things they have been elected to be the caretakers of and put into a budget that which helps the most number of people."
— Susan Hauer, administrator of the Library System of Lancaster County, when asked which state programs should lose out on money in order for public libraries to receive more subsidies.
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"If you're a breeder that doesn't give a dog adequate water every day, doesn't give it food free from toxins and doesn't take the dog out of the cage to clean the cage … we're coming after you today."
— State Rep. James Casorio Jr., a Democrat, about proposed laws the crack down on puppy mills.
Save the date
June 3: The Lancaster County Republican Committee will meet to reorganize. Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster. For information, call 392-4165.
E-mail: dpidgeon@lnpnews.com