The Observer: Two too old to be President of the United States

I have lived through 15 United States presidents. From FDR through George H. W. Bush, U.S. presidents had always been older than I was. Bill Clinton was the first president to whom I was senior. That trend reverted when Joe Biden was inaugurated.

I’ve been thinking about aging and the realities of growing older. I look at Joe Biden and think: "I may be able to ride a bike better than Biden, but I could not do half the things he does. How does he stay up for it?” How does he manage to stay sharp enough to be president… and the haunting question: Is he sharp enough?

I see Biden as a decent human being who has managed to get hard things done.  He has, for example, put together a strong international commitment to Ukraine but that’s not enough. Presidents must be effective, energetic and competent.

A president’s schedule is managed by his extensive staff who help him keep track of his statements, appointments and responsibilities.  All presidents need support staffers to succeed.  Recent hearings of the Select Committee on January 6 have revealed just how dependent (and compliant) a president sometimes must be to his handlers.

“No, you can’t go to the Capitol, Mr. President!” But a president’s authority and competence still matter enormously.

The Observer: York Town Manager Steve Burns has a lot to be proud of

Perhaps I might be more capable of mastering the mother of all to-do lists if I had a staff, too. But I know I could not fly off to G-7 meetings in Germany to discuss worldwide inflation, climate change, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, evolving Covid variants, etc.  Then soon after, fly to Saudi Arabia for delicate negotiations over the Middle East, petroleum production and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Of course, I don’t have to do any of these things.

I’m not presiding over anything; let alone the country. People say: “Age is just a number.” Okay, but arithmetic doesn’t tell the whole story. There are people my age who run marathons and climb mountains, give lectures and write books, wake up early and retire late without a single nap in between.

But most people approaching eighty are not up to such challenges.

Joe Biden is just four months shy of his eightieth birthday. He is already the oldest U. S. president ever.  Donald Trump is the second oldest. The presidency is no job for old men. Ronald Reagan — almost 78 when he left office — proved that.

Demographic data show Biden to be older than almost 96% of the population of the country. Only 1.6% of American males are 80 or more.  Biden will be our first 80-year-old president, but do we want to re-elect him to be president until he’s 86? The life expectancy of a male born in 1942 (as Biden was) is 64.7 years.

The man is well past his sell-by date.

The Dems must find another candidate.

Republicans have a similar geriatric problem complicated by Trump’s dark deeds and brazen misconduct. Donald Trump might run again (God forbid) but the Republicans, too, need a younger challenger. The prospect of two men in their midnight years duking it out for a chance to once again be the most powerful man in the world is worrying.

I don’t care how youthfully they may present or how energetic they may appear. Entropy has set in and both parties need to find more vigorous people to take on the grueling campaign and the more grueling years in office. Some might say this view reflects ageism or age discrimination. So be it.

Who better to accuse seniors of being unsuitable than another senior?

Who might step up?  I’ve seen a number of names floating in Democratic and Republican circles.  Here are ten Democratic contenders: Cory Booker, Sherrod Brown, Pete Buttigieg, Roy Cooper, Andrew Cuomo, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Gavin Newsom, Elizabeth Warren and Gretchen Whitmer.

Jim Fabiano: Teachers are very special people

The Republican search for a candidate younger and less freighted than Trump has brought no fewer than ten names to the surface: Chris Christie, Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Josh Hawley, Kristi Noem, Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo and Tim Scott.

Regardless of which party dominates in 2024, the next president must be relatively youthful but youth is not enough. DeSantis, for example, is young (born in 1978) but youth is not enough. He or she also must be a decent and competent human being.

Is that too much to ask?

Ron McAllister is a sociologist and writer who lives in York.  

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: The Observer: Two too old to be President of the United States