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Should there be an age maximum for POTUS?

Slacks

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Slacks

Slacks 6,791

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Old people have wisdom and experience, but there comes a point where they seem to only be able you accept their current, long held beliefs.

 

I am convinced 70 is too old to really do the job the way out should be done.

 

I don't want Trump or Biden or Sanders.

 

That's all.

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FondrenRoad

FondrenRoad 4,378

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1 minute ago, Snacks said:

 

Old people have wisdom and experience, but there comes a point where they seem to only be able you accept their current, long held beliefs.

 

I am convinced 70 is too old to really do the job the way out should be done.

 

I don't want Trump or Biden or Sanders.

 

That's all.

 

Agree. Trump would have also been forced into retirement long ago if he had worked for any company that didn't bear his name. 

Should be a max age for scotus and congress too. 

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hayden_horn

hayden_horn 11,360

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Just now, FondrenRoad said:

Agree. Trump would have also been forced into retirement long ago if he had worked for any company that didn't bear his name. 

Should be a max age for scotus and congress too. 

yes. maybe not scotus, as it's a less demanding job than congress or president, but i could certainly be convinced.

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FondrenRoad

FondrenRoad 4,378

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Just now, hayden_horn said:

yes. maybe not scotus, as it's a less demanding job than congress or president, but i could certainly be convinced.

Its less physically demanding, but it requires a lot more mental work. Have we ever had a justice that had dementia?  

Other than campaign season, Congress and Senate are a breeze if you are one of the background characters rather than a leader.  How hard is Hyde Smith's job?  She doesn't even need to campaign really and does almost no work in the average work week. 

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TexArcher

TexArcher 37,508

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2 hours ago, DixonHur said:

Yes.  Frankly, I'd like to see a max age for all offices...and voters.

 

I'm all for the max age for holding office.

But the max age for voting is problematic, because some people are lucid into their 80s while others start having cognitive problems much younger.

I've said for years that people ought to have to take a driving exam every year after age 70 to recertify.  I'd be in favor of some sort of civics exam for voters after a certain age as well. 

I've actually suggested it for voters of *any* age.  Want to vote?  Pass an exam that shows you understand how the system works and the basic platforms of each candidate.  If that sounds like too much work for you, then you don't vote.  Imagine what this place could be if only the educated and motivated made the decisions.  But that suggestion usually gets laughed at.

But I don't see why anyone should have a problem with expecting the elderly to prove their competence before they get into a car or cast a vote.  

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Blotto

Blotto 23,434

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I'd happily sign up for maximum age AND term limits for all three branches of the federal government. I have no idea if RBG wants to retire or not, but with our current system of appointing judges and the consequences that go with it, she has no choice but to try and outlast Trump. If you turn over the court every 8 or 12 years, a lot of that bullshit goes away. 

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henrygandorf

henrygandorf 29,176

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1 hour ago, TexArcher said:

But the max age for voting is problematic, because some people are lucid into their 80s while others start having cognitive problems much younger.

what about the minimum age for voting?

do we think a 95 year old is more coherent than a 17 year old?

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TexArcher

TexArcher 37,508

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34 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

what about the minimum age for voting?

do we think a 95 year old is more coherent than a 17 year old?

No, and I don't think more than 1 or 2% of 95-year-olds could pass the sort of eligibility test I mentioned.

There has to be a minimum age.  And I'm not opposed to a maximum age, either.  I just feel like giving seniors a chance to show they're still mentally capable of driving a car or voting would be fairer than a flat cut-off age.

Obviously none of this will ever happen, though.  We'll just continue to live in a world where every so often Grampa Jack plows his car into a cafe patio during brunch or helps to elect a fascist despot because Tucker Carlson told him to.  I mean, what's the alternative, hurt old people's feelings?

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elfenix

elfenix 34,171

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1 hour ago, henrygandorf said:

what about the minimum age for voting?

do we think a 95 year old is more coherent than a 17 year old?

if we extended the franchise down to 17, only about 10 of them would vote.  at least they take their indifference and lack of knowledge seriously. 

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gmr548

gmr548 16,512

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I'm as anti-olds as it gets, but no. Like term limits, elections are the check on senility. We elect it, we deserve it. Also, it's 2020. Age 65 or 70 or whatever looks a lot different depending on who we're talking about. It's not unreasonable that a fairly well off, educated person (most politicians) could take care of themselves and be functioning pretty well at that point.

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Bama Chick

Bama Chick 28,596

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Its less physically demanding, but it requires a lot more mental work. Have we ever had a justice that had dementia?  
Other than campaign season, Congress and Senate are a breeze if you are one of the background characters rather than a leader.  How hard is Hyde Smith's job?  She doesn't even need to campaign really and does almost no work in the average work week. 

Sandra Day O’Connor announced she had Alzheimer’s 10 years after she retired.

I doubt she had it while on the bench but you never know.

And put me down as a “yes” for an age limit. I think Trump, Biden, Samders, and Warren are all too old.
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DixonHur

DixonHur 11,213

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On 4/1/2020 at 2:47 AM, TexArcher said:

But the max age for voting is problematic, because some people are lucid into their 80s while others start having cognitive problems much younger.

I don't give a flip about their lucidity.  My concern is having old people making decisions that will disproportionately effect future generations.

Once you've reach a certain age...for the sake of argument, let's say Avg. Life Expectancy - Min. Voting Age...then you've had your chance.  Now let the next generation take the helm.

I understand DD's point about taking voting seriously, but we need to accept the reality that the youngest set of eligible voters really don't grasp the importance of voting, and likely never will.  It's not laziness, or apathy, per se...it's just a natural part of being young to think you're invincible and have the world by the tail.  Reality sets in around 30

mUOpeVH.gif

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Asithappens

Asithappens 974

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On 3/31/2020 at 5:02 PM, Snacks said:

 

Old people have wisdom and experience, but there comes a point where they seem to only be able you accept their current, long held beliefs.

 

I am convinced 70 is too old to really do the job the way out should be done.

 

I don't want Trump or Biden or Sanders.

 

That's all.

 

 

SOME old people have wisdom. Not all. Far too many are clowns.

If you're gonna impose an age limit (upper end) on POTUS then apply it to voters as well.

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Brandywine

Brandywine 1,313

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Well, the present President was probably this mentally corrupt and incompetent his whole life so age wouldn’t have mattered. Today, IMO, we’re voting based on personality and not whether they have the mental ability to do the job. 

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Nivek

Nivek 16,859

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These are all fantastic ideas.  I am sure the current crop of republicans would never try to bastardize a poll test to disenfranchise voters.  I really like the idea that we should accept the possibility of cognitive limitations of the elderly and that is on us, but cognitive limitations of the younger folks, well hey can fuck right off.    How about we allow the olds to vote, but only 3/5 of their vote counts?  Seem to be some historic precedence for that one.   

 

 

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Slacks

Slacks 6,791

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Age isn't the problem with Trump, Biden, or Sanders.
It os clearly a problem. Trump, whole having always been not great at running a business, but great at promotion, sounds nowhere near as cognitive as he did 20 years ago.

Biden has clearly lost his mind.

Bernie wouldn't survive 8 years as POTUS... Regardless of his ideas.

Alzheimer's and/or age-related Demntia should be DQs.

I wouldn't vote for any of my family members in the federation above me - and that includes the ones that are fantastic role models for life... Their capabilities are diminished. I suspect mine will be at 70ish, too...

I want everyone to get old. Live to 100. Great! But dont become President at 72.
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Incredulity

Incredulity 11,564

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FWIW based on my anecdotal experience with my parents, grandparents and various personal relationships I think somewhere around 80 should be the upper limit.

I have known some sharp people in their 80's that declined significantly towards 90.

I haven't experienced a 90+ year old that isn't pretty significantly diminished.

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wildcat09

wildcat09 29,243

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If we had instituted death panels like we should’ve we wouldn’t be worrying about this now.

In all seriousness, put me down as a big fucking no to any test measuring intelligence or cognition to be eligible to vote. That shit would be rigged by republicans to exclude black and brown people in about ten seconds. The solution to the problems created by our shitty knockoff pretend democracy isn’t even less democracy.

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Fudge Nuggets

Fudge Nuggets 19,151

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On 4/2/2020 at 7:15 AM, Asithappens said:

 

SOME old people have wisdom. Not all. Far too many are clowns.

If you're gonna impose an age limit (upper end) on POTUS then apply it to voters as well.

As a Gen-Xer this has been very apparent over the course of my life.  When my grandparents were old as hell, they had not been brainwashed with nearly three decades of Fox News like the boomers have.  I’m fortunate that my boomer parents are moderate to liberal and wear that badge with honor deep in the heart of redneck territory.

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shnsajax

shnsajax 3,589

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I would rather have all financial and medical records for the past 10 years made public just to run. Then you have to have an open medical and cognitive screening completed by both/all parties simultaneously and in public view. If you are too scared to do this, then you shouldn't be in office.  

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FondrenRoad

FondrenRoad 4,378

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5 hours ago, Paul Wesley said:

As major-party nominees get older and older, it’s getting more and more likely that some candidate is gonna have a major medical event in the 9 months between the conventions and inauguration.  

Yep.  And right now isn't really the best time to be a 75 year old on the campaign trail. 

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