Age, Health And Deja Vu: The Echoes Of 1956 In The 2024 Election

The presidential rematch that most voters say they don’t want to happen is happening. Thanks to thumping wins on Super Tuesday, the oldest major party duo to ever face-off in the general election (beating the record they themselves set in 2020) is coming to a ballot near you.

It promises to be a low, dishonest affair that could do more to turn people off politics for good than engage them in the process. 

But that doesn’t mean all is lost or that critical issues confronting the nation won’t be debated. They will. Eventually. But until then, let’s step back and look at the last time American voters faced a rematch between major party nominees.

The year was 1956. Incumbent Dwight Eisenhower was wildly popular, and the favorite to win a second term. Democratic challenger Adlai Stevenson, the former Illinois governor whom Ike handily defeated in 1952, was again the nominee (but he had to work for it).

With the nation at peace, the economy sound, prosperity spreading, the only real issues were Eisenhower’s age and health. He survived a massive heart attack in 1955 and was sidelined for months, leading some Democrats to say, privately,  he was a “part time president.”  

There were already questions about his age. At the time of the 1956 election, Ike was 66 years old – at a time when male life expectancy was 66.7 years.

In the end, the health and age issues didn’t matter. Eisenhower was popular, had ample opportunity to display leadership on the international stage, and romped to a landslide win.

However, the age issue didn’t escape Eisenhower’s notice or concern. As Jeffrey Franks wrote in the New Yorker:

At a White House political dinner a few days before Christmas, [Eisenhower] said, “We have got to begin right now, at the state level and at the precinct level, to see to it that the Party puts up the right kind of young man to run in ’56. All the programs in the world, and all the Eisenhower prestige, cannot elect some revolting old Republican hack against a youthful, able, and personable Democrat.”

Youth, vigor, and a new direction for the nation were major themes in the 1960 election. They may well be again in 2028, made all the more critical thanks to the clash of old hacks we will have to endure this November.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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