Let's Address the Ageism Elephant in the Room!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

33. The presidency is an office job.

While I'm sure it can be psychologically stressful at times, so are many other office jobs. Being the CEO of Boeing, for example, is probably very stressful right now. Being on the Supreme Court, fo example, or in any court, isn't a walk in the park and judges often work long hours. Presidents do travel a lot, but they aren't sitting in a middle seat in coach; they're traveling in a flying hotel with all the amenities. They do a lot of meeting and greeting but so does the Queen of England, who is 92. They don't have to do any actual work outside the office since all their household chores are handled by others. If they don't want to or can't walk a few blocks to see the sights they can demand a golf cart. If they don't want to visit a soldiers' graveyard in the rain they can't be forced to do it. They aren't asked to chop wood or lay railroad track. They sit at a desk most of the time, at least those who aren't watching TV in bed with a tub of KFC, or waddling around a golf course.

Winston Churchill was in his 70s during WWII when he was the PM of England, and King Haakon VII, at age 70, was a hero of the Norwegian resistance. Benjamin Franklin was in his 70s during the Revolution. Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa at 75. Konrad Adenauer became the first chancellor of West Germany at 73 and served until he was 87 - just to name a few people over 65 who served ably in government.