How Old Is Too Old?

Anna Quindlen, Newsweek

Race, gender—they're both up for grabs in this presidential election. It's age that has become the new taboo in a vitality culture.

Here's my unscientific theory about the presidency: it ages a person in dog years. Each year in office is roughly equivalent to seven years in the life of an ordinary citizen. I base this on before-and-after photographs of the occupants of the Oval Office, who frequently look as though they've spent their time in captivity, being beaten with sticks. Which may help explain why 71-year-old John McCain, who actually has been beaten in captivity, may think that the fact that he would be the oldest person ever to enter the job is immaterial. In this, alas, he is mistaken.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/105554

So...let's see...anyone over the age of 70 is too old.

Or anyone with an (R) after their name.

Or anyone named Bush.

Or Cheney.

Or Boehner.

Or DeLay.

Or...well, you get the idea. ;)

Or how corrupt is too corrupt? I'd vote for Jaques Barzun in a minute, he's 100, but he wouldn't take the job.

the stress. What he needs is a younger VP to take over if his health fails. I also think that if he uses some common sense and avoids screwing up there will be less stress in the job. Bush was smart when he was Governor of Texas and let Bob Bullock do most of the work. He should have kept this up when he became president.

He also needs a healthier president. I suggest Obama. ;-)

Now, forget age -- talk about health, functional dependence, cognitive function, openness to new ideas, adn so on. The old have no monopolies on problems with those (though they do have higher prevalence); and the young are not immune.

(Hey, I'm a gerontologist -- so watch it!)

Would that this nation had some. There's a few clauses in the Constitution that could use some updating. When 40 was the average lifespan, 35 seemed like a good cut off point...