It's probably "ageism," as you put it, but it may be a bit more subtle than you realize... I'm probaly putting too much thought into it, but... well, how many old orcs are there?

There's Sarufang, who's seen too much death, even for an orc. As Anne put it, he's watched his son die TWICE. And that's *after* all the atrocities he witnessed and participated in while a member of the original, demon-tainted Horde.

There's blind Drek'Thar, who, while wise and still full of spirit, sure as hell doesn't have the physical presence to demand the respect of fired-up warriors.

And... well, that's kind of it. Probably a hand-full of shaman are "old and wise," but the Orcs, as a warrior race that had only had modest sucess at getting a handle on not charging out and conquering every damn thing around them is lacking in elders. *Thrall* has been the source of wisdom for the new Horde, serving as a connection to the past through *his* connection to Drek'Thar.

Thrall has been the closest thing to a wise-old-orc the Horde's had, so it's no wonder he thought of Carne as just too old. And if THRALL thought of Carne as old, the average orc warrior probably felt the old cow (and I say that affectionately) was a relic.

Besides, Carne's already shown he can't take command of the Orcs, as they had no problems ignoring him to charge on the unprepeared and poorly defended Alliance ship after that storm on the return from Northrend.

If Carne had been put in charge of the Horde, it could very well have lead to a schism or civil war.

...which certainly could have been interesting plot, but that's neither here nor there.