On this week’s DMZ Show, Bill Scher and I continue the debate over Hillary’s age.
Bill makes some counterintuitive points, including the notion that Hillary’s age might actually help her. Essentially, he argues that a younger woman might be easier to patronize. And he might be right.
We generally agreed that the best way for Hillary to overcome the age issue is to take Craig Shirley’s implicit advice, and demonstrate her youthful vigor by running an aggressive campaign.
But while Bill and I generally agreed the age issue can be overcome, I was surprised by some of the more skeptical comments we received. Here are a few of the choice examples, culled from the comments:
A commenter called “Juan_Der_Ment” writes,
“As someone who is Hillary’s age and in excellent health, I find it extremely hard to believe that she could be physically and mentally fit enough for a full-bore presidential schedule and the attendant intellectual and emotional challenges.* Everyone else I know at my age is aware of limitations, particularly in contrast to younger, sharper people and particularly if we try to project 5-6 years down the road. Everyone is different, of course, but no one is immortal or impervious to aging. There comes a time when it’s prudent to slow down some, pass the torch to the next generation, and not embark on extremely demanding new careers. Give it a rest, Hillary. It takes a village.”
Diane1976 countered,
“The Secretary of State job sounded more exhausting to me, in a different way. I noticed her looking worn out toward the end. She would need to recover from that. It’s hard to picture her lasting 8 years though. I wonder if a president could retire gracefully after four.”
And “Ocean” added,
“Yes, I tend to agree. I admire people like the late Lautenberg and so many others who had the stamina and mental lucidity to continue their work until advanced age. But, I have to question whether the endurance required for Presidency, at least with the expectations of current times, can be achieved by older people. Perhaps in the past, or in those situations when the President is a figurehead while all the real work and decisions are being made by others, it was possible to have someone older representing the office. But if we think about a real, active presidency, I think younger people would be needed. I wish Hilary good luck but I’m not sure she’s the right candidate for a number of reasons. Like commenter nadamt says below, it’s too early to tell who will end up shining in a couple of years.”
This, of course, is anecdotal. But the Bloggingheads comment forum isn’t exactly a hotbed of right-wing thought. The fact that concerns about Hillary’s age seems to transcends the typical partisan breakdown might be something to keep an eye on…