Mother's 96, but dad long gone-
Yes McCain's mom is a healthy nonogenarian, but his dad died of a heart attack at 65. His Grandpa McCain did likewise at 60. So he appears to have longevity genes only from one side of the family. Also, there are a lot of women who live to be 85-95 these days, but very few men do- visit a nursing home and ask the staff their ratio of men to women. Perhaps John will stay in good shape til he's 80, perhaps not. The chance of Alzheimer's becomes significant as one approaches 80 also; you might be better off dead than to suffer that- his Mom's mental lucidity can given McCain hope that this wont befall him as it did Reagan.