Hillary Clinton - NOT Too Old For Presidency

     Although, I'm really tired of politics right now because of the endless campaigning of the recent presidential election, there is one story that just caught my attention. Lately, there has been a lot of discussion in the news about Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016. In fact, CNN Contributor and author David Frum, wrote an article on CNN.com about Clinton, and offered some rather insightful reasons why he thinks the Democratic Party shouldn't support Clinton's campaign. However, one of Frum's opinions really caught my attention. He wrote, "Hillary Clinton is 14 years older than Barack Obama. A party has never nominated a leader that much older than his immediate predecessor." Interestingly, Frum continued his thought by actually offering two examples of presidential predecessors that were in fact older - James Buchanan and Dwight Eisenhower. So, I began to wonder why he even mentioned Clinton's age in his opinion piece at all? Was this a sexist statement? Not surprisingly, Frum's piece created a bit of a backlash. But it also generated a great deal of discussion about gender and ageism, especially with regard to the presidency.

 Clinton will only be 73 years old in 2016.  She is a very sharp, energetic, and healthy woman who just finished her term as Secretary of State. When the time comes for her to make a decision, I'm sure she will do what is best for her, and the country. As I thought about Frum's statement further, I realized that the new Pope Francis is currently 76 years old, and he seems energetic and clear-headed enough to do his job. Was age a factor in his election? Pope Benedict, who just retired, was 78 years old when elected, and is now 85.  Pope John Paul II served the longest (30 years), and died when he was 85 years old. Finally, President Reagan was actually 69 years old when he was elected, served two terms and was almost 78 when he finished his last term in office. In an article written by Claudia Tomlinson from the Huffington Post, she writes, "While an older man is seen as symbolizing wisdom and credibility, the older woman is still associated with kindliness, and nurturing, not characteristics highly valued in international political leadership roles." I think Tomlinson is very accurate in her perception. This idea is a result of the traditional social constructions of gender roles about what older men and women are supposed to act like at a certain age. Frankly, I can't picture Hillary Clinton staying home baking pies and cookies.

      Due to our current economic situation, many older people have come out of retirement and gone back into the workforce. I wonder if the current perceptions about the older generation will change? Also, if Hillary Clinton does become the next president, will this great milestone finally put an end to the negativity surrounding women, age, and their potential for service in the highest levels of our government?