Wanting to be President

[astarte59]

In yesterday's L.A. Times there was an article about seniors and whether they thought John McCain (71) was too old to be President. Not surprisingly, there were opposing opinions. But I was struck by a particular answer since it's something I've believed for a long time anyway--regardless of age. So I wrote a letter to the Times. I think it's

Comments

[fading_coal]

As long as it's not too much age. One of the people interviewed in the article wondered how McCain would, physically, deal w/ the rigors of being Prez (they mostly figured his mind would be sharp)--like being woken at 3 a.m. to deal w/a crisis, etc. And think of all the jet lag. :-)

But 50 isn't old; it's middle-aged! (I'm 48, although in my case 48 is the new 58.) I think the 50's-60's are considered good Presidential ages b/c they indicate experience and a person who's still in good physical shape (think of Bush and all his brush-clearing and Clinton and his jogging)--old enough to know and have dealt with issues of governance and/or issues like foreign policy (having been a governor, or a distinguished senator) but young enough to be woken up frequently at 3 a.m. and travel frequently (granted, in high style, and not having to deal with his/her own luggage), and look vigorous to the nation. Something we saw w/ Reagan, though he was much older (but then again, I think they had a substitute and kept the real guy out of sight even before symptoms of Alzheimer's showed up, and, yes, I'm just kidding! Maybe.) In a crisis the Prez is going to be in meetings around the clock, and he's always having to be awake at weird times to make phone calls to world leaders (Reagan and Thatcher were probably on the phone several hours a day they were so close).

But ageism in other spheres (business, education, etc.) I think comes from the image of someone in their 30's and 40's having the experience and having moved up the ladder efficiently and not retiring any time soon, and having the "sharpness" of "youth." My former mother-in-law, who started teaching a bit later than most (waited till her 5, yes 5, kids were in school before pursuing her degree) never got a job as a principal. She had the right amount of experience, she was more than qualified in terms of being able to do the job, but it just didn't happen. She got another high-level job in her district, but one in administration. I guess a principal has to be young enough to seem capable of dealing w/ a school full of little kids or high school students (though that doesn't explain BTVS's Snyder, but he had other, ahem!, useful qualities).

[nobutterflies]

Oh no, I didn't mean that 50 is old! I used it as the example because I can't picture any 60-yr-old middle managers, but I'm sure I've known some in their 50s. :)

I confess that I don't know much about McCain. I know vaguely what he looks like, but I never would have thought that he was in his 70s. It does seem a little too old (like you said, for health/physical reasons rather than mental)--but then again, look at Castro. Our PM, Harper, is in his late 40s and is practically boyish in comparison. But I totally see why older leaders of state may seem more credible than the younger ones.

Yeah, I think you're right about school principals. I don't remember having many "aged" ones, to use a Buffy term. I think the oldest person I remember from school was...the librarian! Stereotypical, huh.