It’s time for some honesty people. I am willing to bet that no matter how old you are, what your background is, where you come from or whatever other way we can divide ourselves, every single one of you has had a nasty case of the runs and let it loose in a horrible situation. I’ve done it (twice), you’ve done it, we’ve all done it.
Well, our Commander in Chief is reportedly a member of this same club. According to some reports, President Biden may have gotten a case of the Hershey Squirts at a very inopportune time. Like I said, we all have had this happen, unfortunately for the President, iit happened during his meeting with the Pope. This is a situation right out of an episode of Seinfeld. Could you see George Costanza doing this? I can’t think of a worse place to have premature diarrhea than in the Vatican.
As funny as the President getting the trots in a meeting with the Holy Father is, it isn’t the real story here. What the real issue here is the fact that dropping the anchor without an order from the captain is not a young man’s issue. This is totally a symptom of the President’s advanced age.
Like it or not, having a 78 year old person in charge of the entire country is not a good thing. In fact, the majority of 78 year old people are not working at all, nevermind running the country. That’s no disrespect to our elder Americans. The smartest person I know is my grandfather who is in his 80s. I’m just saying, and I know my grandpa John would agree, nobody that age should have their finger on the trigger of the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.
This geratrich problem doesn’t just occur in the White House. Let’s take a look at the ages of some of this country’s most powerful legislators in the Senate. This is not a partisan issue either. I’ll give you a quick list and tell me if you think this an issue.
Dianne Feinstein (D) 87
Chuck Grassly (R) 87
Richard Shelby (R) 86
Jim Inhofe (R) 86
Patrick Leahy (D) 80
Bernie Sanders (I) 79
I could go on but I think you get the point. Does anyone think this is a good thing? I know old people are very wise, but they are also prone to memory issues and dementia. This is absurd seeing how the majority of the country is much younger than this. People who are almost 90 always have their finger on the pulse of what the youth feels on issues right? That’s always been my experience.
Before I give you my solution, I just need to bring this up. Back in 2003, a Senator died after years of service representing South Carolina. Strom Thurmond was 100 years old when he died. Not only was he 100, he was an “active” member of the Senate. If that’s not absurd, I don’t know what is.
As always here at Blind Owl Blogs, we don’t just bring up obvious problems, we come up with solutions.
This solution is remarkably simple.
For every national elected position, there is a minimum age you have to be before even throwing your hat in the ring. To be a member of the House of Representatives, you have to be at least 25. To be Senator, you have to be 30. And of course, to be President you have to be 35. I think we can all agree that a minimum age for these kinds of decision makers is a good thing. What that age should be is up for debate.
As a country, if we are setting minimum ages for elected officials, wouldn’t a maximum age be a good thing?
If we put this to vote, I guarantee the majority of the country would be in favor of an age limit. But, Blind Owl, what should that age be? Well, my friend, buckle up.
I think the maximum age for any national elected official, House of Representatives, Senate, President, Vice President, should be 75 years old. LIke I said, a very easy fix. This would not only apply to new candidates, if a sitting politician reaches 75, then they finish their term and then they ride off into the sunset. And any new candidate would have to be under the age of 75 on the day of their inauguration. See, easy.
To those opponents who are saying, “But Blind Owl, what about the people who live their lives trying to be President and only get the opportunity because of their years of experience?” To them I say, tough shit. If you don’t have what it takes to convince people that you should run the country in the 40 years of your eligibility, then you probably don’t have what it takes.
Don’t worry you old fogies that were once politicians, I’m sure you’ll use your time to catch up on all the Matlock reruns you missed while you were making laws of the nation.