Eighty is the new 60

[rlegro]

So here's the fallacy in all those wingnut claims that Joe Biden is incompetent because ... reasons. Maybe because he has a lifelong though low-grade speech defect and -- horrors! -- he is approaching 80 years of age. He walks stiffly! He looks like grandpa on his bike! (Does your great grandpa ride one?) He's an old man, man!

Oh, really? Well, then why is it that both symphony conductors and lifelong appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court past 80 are still regarded and often with good reason as capable, talented, and energetic? Heck, John Stevens and Oliver Wendell Holmes both turned 90 while on the Supreme Court and are considered lions of that body. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi though in her 80s wears high heels and dances backward while dancing rings around Republicans policy-wise. If Trump wins the 2024 election he would take office again at about the same age Biden was in taking the oath, and we already know Trump's mind is a disorganized mess.

Experience matters. No one at age 80 is going to be as dynamic as they were at 30 or 40. But it's the mind that matters, and the will, and the memory. So go ahead, wingnuts, keep urging his cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Biden from office because he is in your book some kind of mental incompetent. That last is just a code word for "disagrees with me." Oh, and please note: the age limit for a president is a minimum, not a maximum -- you have to be 35, because the wise founders and their heirs realized younger men might not have sufficient knowledge and wisdom gained from adult life to be a good lawmaker, much less a chief executive. Just ask Madison Cawthorne.

But go ahead still and hound Biden from office before 2024, if you can. Then we will welcome Kamala Harris to the job. She's got another good 40 years or so in her, maybe will yet get a Supreme Court nod, but until then...!

[tavernier]

1. Hot Dog, that makes me 55!

Now where did I leave my dancing shoes?

[dameatball]

24. And you only look 54!

[Johnny2X2X]

2. +100

And I hope at least some political commentators on TV go there with Biden beating Covid so easily. Because you know if it were reversed and Covid had almost killed Biden while Trump barely missed work, they'd be talking non stop about how frail and weak Biden is for being hospitalized with Covid. Vaccines and boosters aside, if Biden would have gotten as sick as Trump did from Covid, the media would be screaming that he resign.

Trump is a fat out of shape 76 year old who can barely swing a golf club anymore. Biden is an in shape 79 year old who bikes a lot. It's no wonder Covid was no big deal to Biden, but almost killed the infirm Trump.

[colorado_ufo]

16. Just his schedule and travel exhausts me!

Go Joe!

And go Nancy!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I agree completely!

Especially since I'm almost 80 myself.

[Walleye]

4. Everything they do now is payback for their imaginary grudges

We dared to criticize their orange god so they have to slander a good man

[Sympthsical]

5. 80 is 80

Some people handle aging better than others, but not acknowledging there is usually a pretty hefty slow down in energy and acuity is wishful thinking.

This denial of reality is weird.

You know what it reminds me of? Remember how people kept pushing RBG's work out routine? "Oh man, even I couldn't do that!!!!" It was this little old woman lifting tiny weights. Which is good. Exercise at any age is absolutely awesome. But for whatever reason, it had to get hagiographically blown out of all proportion. If you just scanned articles, you'd have thought she was doing Iron Man that year.

Well. She did not do Iron Man that year.

People age, they slow down, their mind isn't always what it used to be. And that's ok! Nature be like that.

But I do not understand this denial. "They're so spry! Aren't they spry? Spry!"

No, they're 80. They look it. They sound it. It's fine. No one needs any 25th Amendment. Republicans gonna Republican. But the answer to that isn't, "Nuh uh. Spry!" because no one believes it.

No one believes it. So, let's clear this affirmation from the calendar. The more people insist the obviously true is not, the more it looks like worrying or hiding something.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

8. Absolutely

Spot on.

[llmart]

10. Thank you!

Well said and so true. Let's stop the myth that aging is somehow different now than it used to be. It sets people up to believe that they will be the same as they were when they were 50. I think it's much more emotionally healthy to be realistic about the aging process. The media likes to find that one person who can still do cartwheels at 80 and show it on TV, but that isn't realistic. There are always exceptions to the rule in most cases, but they are exceptions and rare.

However, when it comes to the mind, I know quite a few people in their 70's and 80's whose mind is as sharp as ever even though their bodies are weaker. I want my President to be able to form a coherent sentence, not word salad like you-know-who.

[Sympthsical]

13. Forget 80, I'm struggling with 40s.

When Covid hit, the gyms all closed up. I started working from home and putting on Covid weight. I was like, "Ok, no. This has to change." I got back into the gym once it opened and go most days now.

Getting back into shape is always much harder that just being in shape, obviously. But man, that "getting back into shape" phase after 40 is a hell of a lot different than 30. A lot different. Everything felt a bit heavier, I found I got mental fatigued during cardio a bit more. At 30, you can sit there and think, "I've already gone 45 mins. Let's make it an even hour. We'll be awesome." Now it's, "I said 45 minutes, and God as my witness, this will end at 45 minutes!"

Those ten years count.

So this idea, "Oh, 80 isn't what it used to be!" Well, maybe not entirely what they used to be with better knowledge of diet and exercise.

But it's still 80.

[Warpy]

28. Your 40s are when your bod lets you know that your lifespan is finite

and you're living it in an organism made up of various parts competing to be the ones that do you in, like driving a 10 year old car.

The only reason 80 isn't what it used to be is that working 14-16 hours a day did people in by the time they reached 60. It's still 80 and nobody reaches it in peak physical or mental shape.

[Sympthsical]

30. When half your back muscles seize up because you bumped a wall in the morning

Had that happen the other day. Nice 5AM surprise. Better than coffee.

The more I enter middle age, the more I understand people who sit there and stretch for half an hour before doing anything.

[Doc Sportello]

17. Well said n/t

[Locrian]

20. great post - nt

[Sky Jewels]

23. Yes. And there are lots of politicians who are 80+ who should NOT still be in public office.

Feinstein, Grassley, Shelby, etc.

[Skittles]

31. thank you

there are reasons no one wants an 80 year old pilot or surgeon

[GenThePerservering]

33. Disagree

Sorry. My husband just did 100 miles on a fixed gear bike for his 70th birthday. I lift 50 lb plus and keep getting stronger and I'm almost 70. One of my aunts just retired from running her insurance company at 90 - no, she didn't dodder in for a few hours a day and stumble around - she was still minting money.

People are healthier getting older than they used to be simply because of better habits and engagement. Not everyone, but it's an increasing trend - no one is hiding anything. RBG kept going DESPITE serious health problems.

But hey, talk yourself into whatever. I'm voting for Biden.

[empedocles]

6. Biden healhier at 79, than trump was at 50.

[Croney]

7. I want to be Nancy Pelosi when I grow up.

I'll be 78 in November, but if 80 is the new 60, there's still hope.

[PortTack]

9. ☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️

[Torchlight]

11. I dig Cicero's take over commercial branding

'For there is assuredly nothing dearer to a man than wisdom, and though age takes away all else, it undoubtedly brings us that.'

I'm planning on voting for Biden in 2024. If relevance changes between today and then, then it changes.

[Notek]

12. Yup.

I'm two months older than Joe Biden. He's a hell of a lot smarter than I am but I'm a much better bicyclist.

[Warpy]

14. 80 is still 80

but people age at different rates. I've seen people who were ancient in their mid 50s, their bodies wearing out quickly. I've seen people who were engaged and active into their 90s. I had a grand aunt who took boxing lessons at the age of 90. She wasn't half bad.

The problem after the big 8-0 is that things tend to catch up to people quickly. Even if they're engaged and active, a serious illness or major fracture can be lethal. Still, even without that, things like slowed nerve conductivity will lead to falls, speech can be affected, and other wear and tear can make all body systems just not work properly. Biden is mentally sharp but his body is obviously slowing him down. It's the tyranny of the clock and it will affect us all.

I'll vote for him if he runs in 2024, but I won't be surprised if he doesn't finish his term. Younger presidents have become disabled or died in office, and the country didn't fall apart. It was designed not to.

[Johnny2X2X]

19. In my own family

So much is what you put into your body and how you exercise throughout life.

My father was a competitive distance runner his whole life. Ran road races, and was good enough that he often won good sized races. Ran some marathons. Ran a 4:37 mile at the age of 48. He's turning 80 in November, he's still spry. No longer running because his knees are bad, but he bikes 20-30 miles every day during good weather. His mind is still fairly sharp, and he's agile enough to jump off the side of his truck bed onto the ground without getting hurt. If cancer stays away he could live to 100.

My mother never really exercised, and she didn't eat well. She's turning 80 in October. And she can barely get around. She's always sick somehow, and her mind is not great anymore. She'll be lucky to see 82.

[Warpy]

25. My grand aunt was sedentary after her late 30s

moving from on stage to back stage, designing costumes and ball gowns. She made it to 99. Her niece, my mother, never exercised and made it to 94. She didn't do it in very good shape, she'd smoked like a choo choo train.

I have marathoner friends. I never joined in, RA put the kibosh on athletics, and now their knees are worse than mine.

Exercise, while helpful in many ways, is no guarantee of a long life in good shape. Telomere length is a better predictor. Avoiding tobacco is another good predictor, since tobacco use causes the diseases we're programmed to get as we age to show up earlier.

Otherwise, it's not a contest, there's no way to do it 100% right and there's no prize at the end if we live past 90.

[Johnny2X2X]

27. There's no guarantees

But you can move the odds in your favor dramatically. Good diet and exercise leads to a more enjoyable old age more times than not.

Our country has an obesity epidemic that we're just starting to realize the size of the price.

[GumboYaYa]

32. Exactly right....

The way we treat our bodies in our 40s, 50s, 60s etc has a dramatic impact on how we age. My great grandfather ran regularly into his 80s until his eyesight got so bad he had trouble. He is the person who got me started running. He lived to 96 and was sharp as tack until the day he died.

My grandmother is 98. She still walks on the treadmill everyday. She had Covid last year. Nothing but a thing for her, mild cough and a little fever. She facetimed me the day she got out of Covid quarantine because she was so excited she was able to workout and get her hair done.

My grandmother who was an alcoholic died at 63.

[Mosby]

15. I think we need age limits.

Otherwise senators, congresspeople, judges are just going to serve until they die. They can't help themselves.

It's getting ridiculous.

80 is 80. Don't kid yourself.

[StarryNite]

18. Science News - Americans slow down the clock of age

Americans slow down the clock of age
Americans may be aging more slowly than they were two decades ago.

A new study by University of Southern California and Yale University researchers suggests that at least part of the gains in life expectancy over recent decades may be due to a change in the rate of biological aging, rather than simply keeping ailing people alive.

"This is the first evidence we have of delayed 'aging' among a national sample of Americans," said senior author Eileen M. Crimmins, University Professor and AARP Professor of Gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

As noted in the study by Crimmins and lead author Morgan E. Levine, assistant professor at the Yale Center for Research on Aging: "A deceleration of the human aging process, whether accomplished through environment or biomedical intervention, would push the timing of aging-related disease and disability incidence closer to the end of life."

more at link:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180316100436.htm

[tinrobot]

21. So you're saying Social Security should start at 82?

Be careful what you're arguing, the wing nuts might take you up on it.

That said, judging anyone strictly because of age has a name - ageism. Biden seems capable of the job, judge him on that, not a number.

[Mysterian]

22. President Biden is setting an excellent example for people to stay in shape

Sound body....sound mind!

[SleeplessinSoCal]

26. For me the age of Joe Biden is related to his experience in the Senate.

and the new reality of today's Senate.

I wish he'd have Sunday night fireside chats with us. He could talk about his frustration with the new right wingers. How more old school Republicans need to run. And how we must jettison lies and conspiracy theories in order to work for a better future.

[deurbano]

29. Last semester, at 67, I returned to Berkeley to finish my BA. (Still working on it.)

I also do paid work (more than full-time), so was able to have a reduced schedule of 9 units, an accommodation not available when I first attended Cal (decades ago) as a working, single mother. Both classes were upper division. One was a Soc Theory class (covering Marx, Weber, Du Bois, Durkheim and Arendt), with two weekly lectures and two weekly discussions, while the other class (on mass incarceration) met just once a week, but involved a 20-plus page research paper. I commuted from San Francisco, and it was a pain hanging out for hours between classes, trying to avoid getting Covid. I wore a mask at all times, even eating my protein bars while masked.

The instructors told me I was one of the best students in both classes (earning an A+ in both), and that I made a major contribution to the discussions. As an older student, I actually read (most!) of the assigned reading, and attended all the classes, so that helped, of course! I had been really worried my fluid intelligence would slow me down, but after getting back into the swing of the academic experience, I found it hadn't deteriorated as much as I feared. (I mean, I wasn't quite on par with my younger self, but could still hold my own--and more-- with the yoots.) At the same time, my crystallized intelligence really served me well. I just knew more than they did about some topics, and was also better at analysis than most. (Mind you, this was sociology... not computer science, or math, or a foreign language, etc.... where I definitely would have been at a disadvantage.) In fact, the only relevant ability I had lost was being able to write by hand, and I gradually realized I would NOT be able to take the midterm and final essay exams in a Blue Book! (I haven't written by hand in decades, and I even get other family members to fill out forms for me!) So, I had to get an accommodation to use my computer for the in-class exams, and it was a bit devastating at first, to realize I had lost the ability to write... but oh well.

I even experienced my first school lockdown when some student with a gun was on the loose. (Go, USA!) This time my kids were texting to see how I was doing, instead of the other way around!

I DO recommend getting in good physical shape before undergoing a return to college. (I really began to work on that during the early days of the pandemic, since I was in crap shape.) And you can see that the leaders you mention--Biden and Pelosi-- are in very good shape for their ages, or really for any age. I mean, Speaker Pelosi is like the Energizer Bunny, and Biden's fitness is also (WAY!) above average for his age group.