Old Presidents Can Be the Best Presidents.

We all love the idea of a vital, young, charismatic and wise-beyond-their-years President. Who wouldn’t want to show off to the world such a spectacular example of American political talent and vibrancy? And from time to time, we are graced with such, though pretty rarely. Young JFK and Obama come to mind, both outstanding and exemplary in their ability to lead through tough times, perform impressively on the world stage and make moving, memorable speeches and remain free of big scandals. At any given moment, the United States has PLENTY of Presidential talent that could fulfill the mission well except for the horrific process and cost of running for office and putting one’s family through the gauntlet of near-permanent scrutiny—a huge deterrence we have created against our own best interests. It’s almost a form of grandeur and insanity to want to run for President and so it attracts some rather “unusual” types, usually one’s who at least have completed a few elections as governors or senators.

We mustn’t let these sparse examples of talented youth cloud our reasoning. The Presidency is too important to conform to some superficial constraint based on mere birthdate. The most valuable trait a President can have is wisdom, something that generally comes from age and experience, and often pain. The Presidency is not a track and field event or boxing match so if a President…