Old Enough to Know Better

By JOHN CULLEN

I will be 74 years old in three months, so I have more than a passing interest in this debate about senior citizen presidents.

I’m well aware of the limitations that age puts on a person, whether you are young or old. The framers of our Constitution thought this through. They didn’t put an upper limit on the age a person could be as president, but they did mandate a minimum age — 35 years old in the case of a presidential or vice presidential candidate; Senators must be at least 30, and Representatives must be 25. Our founders knew that young people don’t have the wisdom and breadth of experience necessary to run a nation. They wanted seasoned people to lead our country.

Warren Buffet isn’t too old to run one of the biggest financial operations in the world — Berkshire Hathaway. The Oracle of Omaha is the 10th richest person in the world with a fortune of $122 billion. And he’s 93 years old.

Obviously, not all 93-year-olds would be able to run a big company. And not all 80-year-olds could lead a nation. But then, not all 50-year-olds could run a company or a nation. It all depends on the individual.

President Biden was criticized for not remembering the date his son Beau died. I think I still have all my marbles, but I can’t remember the dates my father and mother died. But I do remember their deaths as clearly today as when they passed decades ago. Those moments are forever in my memory.

You don’t have to be old to forget a person’s name or a date. Twelve-year-olds can’t remember to come home for dinner on time. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is only 51 and he can’t organize a two-car parade in Congress.

And that’s what age gives you — experience that is burned into your memory, so you can avoid mistakes made by some young hotshot years earlier. As Albert Einstein said, “The only source of knowledge is experience.”

Certainly, some people don’t age as gracefully as others and they may be unable to make good decisions. Joe Biden isn’t there. He has enough on the ball to lead us out of a pandemic, reverse inflation, create millions of new jobs while reducing unemployment to record levels, and increase our energy independence.

Most cultures revere their elders and seek their advice and guidance. Remember Obi-Wan Kenobi, mentor to Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars”?

I don’t know who the president of Egypt is, but neither does Donald Trump or 99.9% of the rest of Americans. Most people couldn’t find Egypt on a map.

But I do know the difference between right and wrong. I know you pay your bills. You stay faithful to your spouse and you don’t encourage Russian dictators to invade other nations.

Iowans don’t have much room to complain about too-old leaders. We just reelected 90-year-old Chuck Grassley — 10 years older than Biden — to another six-year term in the United States Senate. And in last month’s caucuses, Iowa Republicans by an overwhelming margin chose a guy about the same age as Joe Biden over a half dozen much younger candidates. A week later, New Hampshire Republicans did the same thing. Meanwhile, New Hampshire Democrats bypassed two younger challengers in their primary to give Uncle Joe 97% of the vote — as a write-in. Biden wasn’t even on the ballot!

Pundits may not like old politicians, but voters seem to dig the old fossils. We’d love to see another JFK or Barack Obama bubble to the top, but in this election, that doesn’t seem to be the case. We’ll dance with who brung us.

John Cullen is President of the Storm Lake (Iowa) Times Pilot and Publisher of The Progressive Populist.

From The Progressive Populist, March 15, 2024

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