Thunderstorms, some heavy during the morning hours, then skies turning partly cloudy during the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..
Tonight
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Mitt Romney announced recently that he isn’t going to run for office again, saying he’d be too old by the end of his next term to serve effectively.
Refreshing to hear. Even more refreshing was his comment that others – including President Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump – should follow his lead and step aside. Time for a new generation to have a turn, he said.
Both those men – the likely standard-bearers for the two parties in the next election – are old. Biden, 80, is already the oldest president we’ve ever had. Trump, 77, is a year older than Romney. Whichever one gets elected, we’d have a president in his 80s. Very few people I know really want either one – they just plan to vote for one so as to prevent the other from taking office.
And whatever you think of either one, you have to wonder how capable they’d be by January, 2029; they both already show signs of decline, Biden more than Trump. Would they even make it that far?
They’re not the only ones, either. Dianne Feinstein is 90. Mitch McConnell is 81. Nancy Pelosi is 83.
Age can come with wisdom, something we clearly need in positions of power. Also, advances in medicine and science may eventually mean people in their 80s can function as well as somebody in her 60s.
But not really, not right now. That’s awkward to say, since we’re supposed to respect our elders. But it’s worth a serious discussion about age limits.
Certainly, such limits would be a form of age discrimination. But we already have age discrimination — the rules don’t allow people under certain ages from holding those offices. We have already decided that age is an appropriate criterion to consider.
I’m not prepared to say what the limit should be. But I do think we need the discussion, and we should thank Mitt Romney for prompting it.