
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If Hollywood were to produce a movie about the current political scene it might be called “The Geezers.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The two leading candidates for the 2024 presidential election are both old – Biden at 80 and Trump at 77. ; While Biden tends to “show his age” more than Trump, both are in that red zone of life when “anything can happen.” ; If either of them is returned to the Oval Office in 2025, he will be the oldest person to ever serve as President. ; That means voters will be acutely interested in the person serving as Vice President.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Until January 2021, when she stepped down, Nancy Pelosi (83) was the Speaker of the House. ; She has not shown any signs of physical or mental debility that would impede her ability to service. ; That is also true of her younger counterpart in the Senate, Chuck Schumer (72). ; Regardless, they are still old.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We have had several recent examples of the frailty of aging officeholders. ; Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (81) recently had a “medical event” during a press conference. ; He stopped speaking midstream and stood staring blankly into space for more than 30 seconds. ; Other senators came to his aid and assisted him away from the podium. ; He returned a few minutes later declaring himself to be “okay.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Any older person – or people with experience with an older person – knows that McConnell was not “okay.” ; It would be impossible to know what happened without a medical examination, but it is fair to say that it was not a good sign. ; McConnell has also had several falls lately – on one occasion suffering a broken rib and a concussion.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The ravages of age are bipartisan. ; California Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein (90) returned to the Senate after a prolonged convalescence at home. ; There had been whispered concerns about her mental acuity prior to her absence – and there were friendly calls for her to retire during her stay at home. ; While she did not resign, she did give up her chairmanship of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee. ; Her return has been marred by a number of “senior moments.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The next oldest member of the Senate is Republican Chuck Grassley (88). ; So far, he has not had any public “events” that raised questions about his physical or mental abilities. ; He has a long way to tie the record of South Carolian Democrat-turned-Republican Senator Strom Thurmond, who cast his last vote on the floor of the Senate at the age of 100 – after which he resigned and died shortly thereafter.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Some politicians retire when they feel they no longer have the stamina or mental ability to fulfill the duties of the office. ; Others will run for reelection as long as the voters will reelect them. ; The most obvious and unfortunate example of that was President Franklin Roosevelt.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The importance of an officeholder’s age and condition obviously depends on the level of the office. ; In the case of Roosevelt, his declining health had negative impacts on American public policy. ; He was terminally ill throughout his campaign for a fourth term – propped up by staff and shielded by a friendly media. ;  ; Many blame his condition for the unfortunate results of the Yalta Conference in which the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin was ceded hegemony over eastern Europe. ; Roosevelt died a few weeks after the Conference.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In almost every political generation, there is a call for “passing the torch” to a new generation of leaders. ; The current generation has been exceptionally tenacious in maintaining a tight grip on the proverbial torch. ; They cannot go on forever – but they can go beyond their ability to provide the American people with good service.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Personally, I favor a constitutional amendment that would ban anyone from running for federal office – President, Senate and House – after attaining the age of 75 for the presidency and the Senate, and 78 for the House. ; Yes, that would mean that neither Biden nor Trump would be eligible to run today. ; I suspect that none of the current aforementioned officeholders would approve of my proposal.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In terms of that hypothetical movie, would it be a drama, a comedy … or a horror flick?</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, there ‘tis. ; ;</p>

The Politic Scene is Getting Old … Literally
