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madlift  ·  3229 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Dear America, get your head out of your ass about Bernie Sanders

I was genuinely surprised at the content of the article. I really thought it was going to be "America is never going to elect this guy, he's a flash in the pan that excites the younger portion of the electorate, today's new media darling and tomorrow's old news, he's too old, he's too far to the left, he polls well in states with small populations but not in the South and west, yada yada yada..." Thing is, I believe all those are completely legitimate criticisms of the Sanders campaign. I would dearly love to see a candidate who inspires younger voters into activism and engagement in the political process and who can help re-frame some of the tired old debates we've had for a generation. I'd also like to see all that done by a candidate who is actually electable. In my opinion, even if there were no other considerations, his age disqualifies him for the office. I am not now nor will I ever vote for a president who would be 84 years old at the end of his term. I lived through the Reagan era and it was ghastly-- you could see the man wasn't physically (and, ultimately, mentally) up to the job in his 2nd term when he was in his mid-70s. Reagan was a paragon of physical health when he entered the office but no septuagenarian is fit for the most stressful, taxing job in the world year after year after year. I'm not being ageist, I'm being realistic. You wouldn't hire a 75 year old man to be a firefighter or a cop and nobody would speak against you for not doing it. It's absurd to think that a person that old could handle the insane levels of stress and exhaustion that come with the job of President. Reagan's staff routinely limited his work hours, gave him long mid-day naps, trotted him out for easy photo ops, and sheltered the public from the true nature of his capacity to do the work of his office. Being the head of this country is a younger person's game. Hate to say it, but Bernie missed his moment. I suspect his real legacy will never be as President but rather as the leader of a new minority movement that can have real impact in coming years, particularly through the young activists who have signed on and will be affected by what they experience as part of an insurgent, outsider group.