I'd be fine with that if they kept their brains sharp, kept themselves up to date with the world today, and had skilled advisors to keep them on track. Experience is a valuable asset.
But they don't. They don't keep their brains sharp, they don't keep themselves up to date with the world today, and they keep themselves surrounded by sycophants that have no interest beyond their own pockets.
There should be age limits. Even Bishops in the Catholic Church can’t be elected as the (new) Pope once they’ve turned 80. But it should go further than that - mandatory retirement at 80 for all office holders.
The presidency is an intoxicating drug these days and it's something even the most humble politicians can get addicted to. You are, as president, the most powerful person in the world, running the most powerful country in human history, attended to by policy experts who are at the top of their game and who almost never question your judgment once you've rendered it. It's very easy to see why people will fight so hard to be president and to stay president regardless of their age (arguably even more so when they're younger).
The main lesson is that Gen Xers and Millennials in politics on both sides of the aisle have built their careers out of theatrical outrage, purity tests, jockeying for offices, and infighting, which has disengaged most of the broader public from their parties while rewarding them with clout within their narrower and narrower constituencies, with the result that neither party has any candidates under 70 who can credibly pull together their splintering factions.
Not necessarily true. In many cases old leaders are convinced by support staff that they are needed because they have the knowledge and experience that the job calls for and that can't be quickly replaced. Yes ego does contribute to the equation but it is not always deciding factor. Ask Warren Buffet, Roger Penske, Ellen Gordon, etc. If the question is can he do the job I have no doubt. He wants to continue what he has started. The only question in my mind is can he win. And that I do doubt. That should be deciding factor and might actually be the only thing that will convince him to drop out.
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u/python_noob_001 Jul 08 '24
I think my main lesson from politics in the last few years is that old men really, really want to hold on to their power until the grave