Hee-haw, y'all. The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary

[septimus]

Amy Klobuchar for President. (She’ll be only 60 in 2021.)

@Elendil_s_Heir

An interesting essay on aging, the brain and the Presidency: https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2019/03/08/too-old-president-science-says-yes/oMgYxC6waKIIyKWuHciJCJ/story.html

Thank you, Elendil’s Heir. Let me also quote myself:

@septimus

[corrected]
Joe Biden would be 78 years old when inaugurated for his first turn.

“Eighty is the new seventy”? Fine, but look at the history of 70-year old Presidents:
[ul][li] Before Reagan and Trump, Eisenhower was the very first President to ever be in office at age 70. And he was a young 62 when first inaugurated.[/li][li] Before Eisenhower, only five men aged 59 or more were ever elected to a first term of President. (Adams, Jackson, Harrison, Taylor, Buchanan.)[/li][li] When Bush-41 was inaugurated at age 64, he was older than all but three prior first-inaugurees (Harrison, Buchanan, Reagan). Removing the “first” stipulation adds only three names (Jackson, Eisenhower and, by just a few days, Truman).[/li][/ul]

Thus we’re not being asked to believe “Eighty is the new seventy,” We’re being asked to believe “Eighty is the new sixty.”

@ Dopers implicitly arguing that, for Presidents, “Eighty is the new sixty”: — How many of you are eighty? (I’m approaching the big seven-oh myself and, although I keep smiling and pounding on the keyboard, it’s increasingly obvious to me that I’m not sixty anymore. :o )

Two of my own recommendations — Hickenlooper, Inslee — will be in their very late 60’s if/when inaugurated and I’m not too happy about that. But Bernie Sanders? Who’d be 79 when inaugurated? It is understandable that many voters would look at that age as a deal-breaker. Supporting BS is doing the Kremlin’s work.