JEFF PEARLMAN

JEFF PEARLMAN

Computer?

Was reading the other day how John McCain recently admitted he doesn’t use a computer.

This strikes me as more than a tad odd. How does one live in 2008 and not use a computer? Imagine, for example, if you were the head of a company and you were interviewing someone to be your COO or vice president of marketing or, flippin’ hell, a receptionist. If that person said, “Well, I’ve never used a computer,” would you even consider making the hire?

I’m being serious. To me, this is waaaaaaay beyond a trivial issue. In the modern world, the businessman/politician/actor/dog walker/nose picker/baseball player/8-year-old without computer skills does not exist. Literally, you can’t live in the United States without being able to use a computer. You just can’t. It is how business is conducted. Yeah, the fax machine was a wonderful device. And I’m all for Texas Instruments calculators. And surely McCain has an abacus stashed somewhere.

So to think that Jordan, my 7-year-old nephew, is better equipped to use a computer than the potential next president is quite disconcerting.

Memo to John McCain: The Learning Annex offers computer lessons most Thursdays. Sign up—NOW!