There has been a lot of press coverage of our aging political class in recent weeks. Whether it’s the ongoing, multiple stories about 80-year-old President Joe Biden, a 90-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein getting confused at a hearing and being told how to vote and so on, the greying of our political leaders is undeniable, inescapable and a legitimate area of debate. (RELATED: McConnell Speech Drowned Out By Chants Of ‘Retire, Retire, Retire’)
Just as it has been in the past. In 1984, a 73-year-old Ronald Reagan – at the time, the oldest president we’ve ever had – was openly questioned about his age and ability to handle the nation’s top political job. As Lou Cannon reported in October 1984 following the first debate between Reagan and Walter Mondale:
Democrats, usually sensitive about raising the issue, openly suggested that Reagan, 73, was too old to serve another four years. And a Reagan adviser, commenting on condition that he not be identified, said: “It’s the one issue that could change the course of this campaign. We don’t think it will, but the potential is now there.”
Polls taken for the Reagan campaign showed a 3-point decline in his lead over Democratic nominee Walter F. Mondale since the debate, campaign officials said. The latest Reagan trackings put the president ahead by a 53-to-39 percent margin.
Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Calif.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Reagan “looked old and acted old” in his nationally televised encounter. When Coelho was asked if the president acted doddering, he replied, “Well, he didn’t quite drool.”
Ah, Tony Coelho. The same man who resigned from office before a House committee, and the Justice Department, could launch their investigations into his shady junk bond dealings.
That aside, Reagan rallied and in the next debate, gave a response about age that still brings a smile to your face:
“I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
Was Reagan too old at the time? Perhaps. But voters didn’t seem to mind as Reagan won 49 states in the November election.
But it doesn’t lessen the need to discuss whether Biden and Donald Trump’s age should be a campaign issue. (RELATED: Nancy Pelosi Makes Eyebrow-Raising Comment On Biden’s Age)
It should. Pretending otherwise is potentially disastrous. As The Washington Post’s Kathleen Parker writes:
…public figures must operate by a special standard. Confidence and trust in their abilities inevitably wane with each misstep or fumbled message. This is why I long ago adopted the “Giuliani Rule,” referring to the day former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared on television as his hair rinse dripped down his cheek. As my younger, next-generation friend Abby Livingston said, we should retire before the rinse starts dripping — or before we trip on a sandbag or lose track of our thoughts.
Exactly. We all age differently. But not all of us have the responsibilities of an elected official at the highest levels of government. Their fitness for office is and should be a campaign issue.
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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Age has nothing to do with it. Mental acuity is everything.
And when it comes to mental acuity, Biden has none. Trump is still sharp as a razor. Obviously then, age is not at issue, and therefore does not need to be brought up as one.
Indeed. Example Fetterman 55 versus Thomas Sowell 93. I rest my case.
Term limits is much more important.