Old Men for President

The leading candidates for president aren't that old.

Image generated at app.leonardo.ai

When the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1790, it specified that no man under the age of 35 could be president. But the average life expectancy in 1790 was somewhere between 36 and 45 years. (The few studies of family histories back then varied widely.) Men older than 35 must have been truly ancient!

Granted, the average life expectancy in 1790 was skewed by child mortality. If you made it to 35, you were likely to live well past 60. When George Washington was sworn in, he was 57 years old. He went on to live to 67.

Today, the average life expectancy is 77 years. At 81, Joe Biden is already past that. Donald Trump is 77 years old now.

Today, according to the life expectancy calculator at sunlife.ca, if you make it past 71, never smoked, and are moderately active, you can expect to live until 86, which is how old Biden would be at the end of his second term.

Given the advances in medicine, nutrition science, and fitness education*, Biden and Trump are still more likely than not to survive the next presidential term.

It's still playing the odds. There's a better than even chance that they will both survive. The real question is: Who would bring more wisdom, strength of character, and leadership experience to the Office of the President?

Still, if we're playing odds, we should probably hedge our bets and give careful thought to who would succeed the president in the event of their demise. Can you say, "President Kamala Harris?"

See also:

NIH.gov

Wikipedia

Sun Life

* Full disclosure: I should have flunked P.E., but they had pity and usually gave me a C.