During the 50 years in which "The Gerontologist" has been publishing, the politics of aging in the United States has undergone distinct changes. The political behavior of older individuals has remained largely the same even though different birth cohorts have succeeded each other in populating the ranks of older people. But the politics…

Purpose: In the 2008 presidential election, a majority of older persons voted for John McCain, the loser. The purposes of this report are to help illuminate why older voters were the only age-group that gave a majority to McCain and to delineate some ongoing issues in the analysis of older persons' voting behavior. Methods: Analysis was undertaken…

The use of interventions claiming to prevent, retard, or reverse aging is proliferating. Some of these interventions can seriously harm older persons and aging baby boomers who consume them. Others that are merely ineffective may divert patients from participating in beneficial regimens and also cause them economic harm. "Free market…

Do politicians behave on the conventional premise that old-age based election campaign efforts can shift the votes of older persons from one candidate to another? A case examination of the 1976 campaign of Jimmy Carter for the Presidency of the United States raises some doubts about the centrality of this premise. (Author)

Examines three axioms which stereotype older adults, i.e., socioeconomic status, political action, and demography. Aging-based organizations are in a position to focus on age relations rather than the aged. Presented at the 35th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Boston, MA, November 21, 1982. (JAC)