Recently a good friend expressed her despair with the never ending focus on gossip and morality issues rather than candidates’ positions on important issues in the current presidential campaign. What does Cindy McCain’s drug addiction or Reverend Wright’s sermon have to do with the way the candidates will govern? I find myself arguing, “but they started it,” unconvincingly. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the blow-for-blow soundbite war, assuming that what really matters remains at the heart of the arguments. The information about the issues that matter is out there (On the issues, 2Decide, Project Vote Smart), but it requires a little bit of energy to go find it. The junk that we read and hear involuntarily isn’t cutting it.

Barack Obama continues to do well among young people. Common sense might indicate that older voters would prefer John McCain because of his age and experience. But when senior voters learn about McCain’s positions on issues such as health care and Social Security, even they favor Obama.

In terms of the issues, Obama enjoys double-digit advantages over McCain on healthcare, gas prices, and the economy; while McCain has a 21-point lead in combating terrorism. On personal attributes, Obama excels in bringing needed change, temperament, empathy, and clarity of vision. McCain fares better on experience and knowledge of world affairs. They’re about tied on leadership and “personal and ethical standards.”

As for the septuagenarian issue, which I’ve been harping on for weeks, the polling data points to this remaining a key hurdle for McCain: “Only three in 10 said they were ‘entirely comfortable’ with the prospect of a 72-year-old new president.” (The Carpetbagger Report)