Age Limits for Elected Officials?

A speech impediament or age related short term memory lapse has nothing to do with a President's ability to formulate beneficial policy, or guide a nation through the complex dynamic and interactive social-political, geo-political, financial, and/or economic issues that effect the security and future of our nation. An inability to come with the right word in a dynamic environment is much less important then the ability to deal with big-picture complex and long term issues. The wisdom that comes with age and experience is far more important.

By any measure, Biden’s administration has excelled in building a resilient record setting economy, a thriving and record setting labor market with sustainable wage growth, re-established the US as an international world leader, initiating record setting infrastructure improvements some of which are already here and others that will be coming, re-established US manufacturing with government stimulus and record private investment as well as the largest investment of any country ever to address the critical issues of Climate Change. 

Biden has also had verbal gaffs and verbal slips connecting the right words consistent with his history of dealing with stammering. SO WHAT!  Look at what he has accomplished for our country and the people generally. In less than four years he has accomplished more than almost any president has accomplish in eight years.

Quickly coming up with the right word in any dynamic situation is a valuable skill for news reporters and verbal bullies, and neither one is a useful attribute for a leader charged with dealing with complex real-world issues that effect our nations future. 

Age discrimination is just as ugly as any other form of discrimination.

I would prefer a mandatory ethics background check and Civics test similar to what naturalized citizens are expected to know. It seems that many elected officials have little knowledge of the precepts of our democratic governance, the roles and responsibilities of our three branches of governance, the roles and responsibilities of the other institutions of a functional democracy, nor the key 'norms' that allow these organizations to effectively interoperate as they must for a functional democracy to persist.

Our elected representatives all swear oaths to protect the Constitution and our Country - the whole Constitution and the entire country.  There is no oath nor mandate that elected officials act to protect their political influence nor to serve their big money and other benefactors, their political party, their political base, their constituents nor themselves. Their only duties are to the constitution and the country and to assure that their constituent’s views are recognized in political deliberations to determine what is best for the country.

I have not seen many who either do not know what their oath requires or choose to ignore the requirements of their oath. If they do not realize their duty here, they have no business serving as an elected official - at any level of our governance.

Oh, are we back at this question?

I do not support age limits, but I could support cognitive tests or other measures to ensure mental and physical fitness for office once past age 70. 

I think Biden is still mentally fit, and the report even goes into detail to say that he remembered a lot of details, even if Hur's biased summary at the beginning suggested otherwise.

I don't like that our two choices for President this year are both octogenarians, but at least one of these men has a record of great legislation and public service, as opposed to a criminal mastermind indicted on 91 counts and found liable for sexual assault and fraud.

Character and ability matters more than age.

yes, leadership should have to live with the laws and policies they create, not die shortly after the damage is done.

The U.S. has some of the oldest politicians compared to other countries even when those countries have older populations than the U.S. (Greece, Italy, Japan) because it requires a known name and fundraising to win,

Political scientist attribute this to the U.S. professional politician that requires a known name and fundraising to successfully run for office and then can stay in office as long as they like.

Maybe what U.S. needed is to the money out of political campaigns so younger candidates have a chance to run, and term limits so they can't stay in office their entire life time.

"The average age in the U.S. Congress is one of the oldest in the world, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, topping countries with much older populations including Japan, Italy and Greece."

"Gerald Baier, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia, says Canadian politics are far less beholden to incumbency and money than U.S. politics, where a known name and fundraising prowess can ensure a politician can stay in office as long as they wish."

"Indeed, term limits – rather than age limits, cognitive tests or other schemes – would substantially solve the issues that come from an ageing political class while also addressing other issues in American politics"

"Indeed, term limits – rather than age limits, cognitive tests or other schemes – would substantially solve the issues that come from an ageing political class while also addressing other issues in American politics."

"Still, it can be said that the ageing Congress is just a reflection of the  American population as a whole skewing older over time. And all the discussions about ageing politicians mask a separate, related problem: that of entrenched politicians."

"While most of us realise that there is an incumbency advantage for politicians already in office, we probably don’t realise the magnitude: in the 2022 election, Ballotpedia reports that congressional incumbents won 98 percent of their re-election bids; in 41 states, every congressional incumbent running for re-election won."

"The incumbent advantage rests upon name recognition and massive fundraising advantages for those already holding office, which in turn raises serious concerns about the role of big donors and special interests exerting undue influence through entrenched incumbents. These concerns, coupled with any legitimate concerns about the competency of older elected officials, highlight the need for term limits as a tool to make representation more reflective of, and responsive to, the needs and interests of constituents."

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/7/7/the-us-doesnt-need-age-limits-it-needs-term-limits

https://globalnews.ca/news/9935707/politics-us-mcconnell-biden-age-limits-health/amp/

Better idea: mental competency testing administered by a board certified psychologist 

Also anyone handling classified documents MUST be able to obtain the highest level of security clearance. Right now, we bestow this to the President, the person does not earn the clearance. 

Both the mental competency testing as well as the security clearance should be obtained prior to running for office. Both are a national security issue. 

Age limits, cognitive test and term limits. Put it all on one bill and pass it.  

Congress, the Senate and the White House is not a nursing home for dementia.  When reaching the age of 72 it should be mandatory retirement if they have hit 25 years in Congress it should be mandatory retirement

While your at it put in the bill that Congressmen and women along with the families can not own stock in the stock market if shares are owned it must be put in a trust fund or liquidated.  Politicians shouldn't become millionaires while passing bills that help their portfolio

Well this should be a bipartisan agreement but we have the same problem in politics 

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Everyone from politicians to judges should have an age limit. The longer sometimes people are in power the more entitled they get. They get that money rolling in and they can't leave the power and the cash make them stay.

i need democrats to stop throwing tantrums and shade over issues with Biden's age.  he was one of the oldest candidates to run in 2020...

four years ago.

if democrats are paying attention, that means he's four years older than when he was when he was the oldest candidate to run for prez.  

it takes three minutes to find clips of Biden when he served in Congress.  he's markedly slower now--stop effing insulting us.

HU's JOB, was to tell us if Biden broke the law...Instead he did the  unspeakably wrong act of a political hit job. No one cares what a Hu's unqualified medical opinion abouPresident Biden's capacity.   ..in Hu's capacity as a special council..he crossed the line and should lose his law license.

I think we need to test embryo and discard the stupid ones!

if we have mandatory retirement ages for other government agencies and in the private sector then we should have them for all politicians!

There should be age limits or term limits for every elected position.  Why is it that we have 2 men that for any reasonable judgement are losing it running for office?

why is it that we have people so old they die in office, not because of an unfortunate accident, but age related problems.  

are these the best America has to offer? Or is it that those in power grasp that power till their dying breath?

Or is it that the voters feel that every idea held by newer generations is so incompetent that they prefer these individuals over turning a corner and letting others lead

We are all passengers in a car and have a choice of only two drivers. One is old. He may nod off and drive us over the cliff. The other one is insane and has already made clear he WILL drive us over the cliff. The choice is clear. 

The problem is that most of us just want to get out of the damn car. 

We can do better. 

You know that President Biden can identify with average American. He lost his first wife and daughter in a car accident, Hunter and Beau survived the car accident, but ended up in the hospital. He knows what is to be a single parent, struggle to make ends meet. He knows what it is to have lost a son, do to the toxic exposer in the military, causing cancer. He knows what it is to have a child with drug addiction and struggle to help him to get clean. 

He can identify with the average American struggling to survive. He lived history more than most and knows what it's like!

I think it would help if candidates passed IQ tests. 

The problem is you are really has a bunch of young people that don't know anything about history, the constitution, the rule of law or even up hold any of it. Old people at least lived history!

Age limit as well as term limits!

Age is important if there are infirmities or disability that would impair a candidate from performing the duties of office. The current President's years of experience, success in all the areas of government service he has accomplished and his personal success in building international alliances has provided our Nation a source of redemption from the naive, in experience in governing and gangster threats to our allies from our previous President. A younger candidate who has no experience governing or involvement in the functioning of government would lack the knowledge,experience and the skills needed to govern. In fact, that candidate could place the country at risk as we witnessed from the dangers we encountered under the previous President.

There is a need for more qualifications to be eligible to seek the presidency and an identification of liabilities i.e. sickness, mental illness, criminal activity and any other issue that would require resignation by an incumbent president or removal from office.

We live in a world that requires Constitutional consideration for change that reflects the 21st century and all the knowledge, growth and needs that exist in this modern age.

experience , matters ! Biden far more " with it " than trump check out accompolishments for each of them during their term,

Some folks at 40 look & act like they are 90. Some that are 80 act & look like they are 50. I'm 80 still working in healthcare as a phlebotomist. I walk over 15,000 steps a day. The age thing is an insult. Needs to be another qualification factor than age. 

Beyond the age debate: Experience does matter!

While maybe Joe Biden has been in government too long, at least he knows how to work with Congress to pass legislation.

Shall we compare how many bills have been passed by Biden to how many bills were passed under the former guy, who had no idea how government worked?

No, I don't support age limits.  What I do support is whether the individual is competent and capable of making ration/sound decisions, along with a desire to put the good of the country ahead of his/her own ego or party.  I dare say that Biden is more competent than over half of the MAGA Republicans in Congress and for sure more competent than most of the MAGA crowd.  One only has to look at some of the idiots that surrond Trump and find overwhelming evidence that they are deranged, incompetent, and lack any sense of rationality.  Incompetence knows no age limits, thus age restrictions won't get at the real problem-having elected officials who are rational, thinking individuals.

there's a reason that we die when we get old, it's because we're old!  it should be no different for old politicians. at the end of their political life (which should end at no later than 50 years) they should be happy to get out of the way.  

life tarries not backwards.