<
https://theconversation.com/why-are-us-politicians-so-old-and-why-do-they-want-to-stay-in-office-217024>
"When former President Bill Clinton showed up at the White House in early 2023,
he was there to join President Joe Biden to celebrate the 30th anniversary of
the Family and Medical Leave Act. It was hard to avoid the fact that it had
been three decades since Clinton was in office – yet at 77, he’s somehow three
years younger than Biden.
Biden, now 81 years old, is the first octogenarian to occupy the Oval Office –
and his main rival, former President Donald Trump, is 77. A Monmouth University
poll taken in October 2023 showed that roughly three-quarters of voters think
Biden is too old for office, and nearly half of voters think Trump is too old
to serve.
My former boss, President George H.W. Bush, happily chose not to challenge
Clinton again in the 1996 election. If he had run and won, he would have been
72 at the 1997 inauguration. Instead, he enjoyed a great second act filled with
humanitarian causes, skydiving and grandchildren. Bush’s post-presidential
life, and American ideals of retirement in general, raise the question of why
these two men, Biden and Trump – who are more than a decade and a half beyond
the average American retirement age – are stepping forward again for one of the
hardest jobs in the world."
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
