Grey power
John McCain vs. Harrison Ford: who is the sexier senior?
Last Updated: Monday, May 26, 2008 | 10:36 AM ET
By Martin Morrow, CBC News
You're only as old as you feel? Try telling that to John McCain and Harrison Ford. This week, the two men proved that age is no impediment to ambition. While U.S. presidential hopeful McCain, 71, rebutted speculation about his health by releasing his medical records, actor Ford, 65, defied ageist critics by releasing yet another Indiana Jones movie. We’re not championing either fella, but their success in their senior years is certainly inspiring. Here’s how these rugged dudes match up.
 (Paul. J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images) |  (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) | |
| John McCain | Harrison Ford | |
| Age: | 71 | 65 |
| Current role: | Arizona senator and likely Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency. | The title character in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. |
| Past roles: | U.S. Navy aviator, Vietnam prisoner of war, congressman. | Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark and its two sequels; Han Solo in the first Star Wars trilogy; and president of the United States in Air Force One. |
| Significant achievements: | Fighting for campaign finance reform; returning from political oblivion to be the Republicans' best hope in the 2008 presidential election. | Hitched his star to not one but two of the biggest franchises in motion picture history. |
| Feats of derring-do: | Escaping from a burning jet in the Gulf of Tonkin; surviving five and a half years in a Vietnam prison; emerging unscathed from the Keating Five senate corruption scandal. | Too many to name, although they range from piloting the Millennium Falcon spaceship in hyperdrive (see: the first Star Wars trilogy) to surviving a nuclear explosion by stuffing himself in a fridge (see: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). |
| Biggest loss: | The Republican presidential nomination, to George W. Bush, in 2000. | The 1986 Best Actor Oscar, to William Hurt. Ford was nominated for Witness; Hurt won for Kiss of the Spider Woman. |
| Honours: | Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, National Order of Vietnam, Profile in Courage Award | Golden Globe Award for lifetime achievement, American Film Institute Life Achievement Award, People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive (1998), Boy Scouts of America Life Scout |
| Most regretted decision: | Opposing the creation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. | Turning down George Clooney's role in Syriana, which led to an Oscar win. (The rest of us regret his starring in the romance Six Days Seven Nights with Anne Heche.) |
| In his own words: | “I am older than dirt and have more scars than Frankenstein.” | “No one wants to see a hero have to pick up his cane to hit someone, but I'm still quite fit enough to fake it.” |
Martin Morrow writes about the arts for CBCNews.ca.
Who do you think is the sexier senior? Leave a comment.
