How is Bernie "too old"?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

He's next up for reelection to Senate in 2018 and says he'll run again. He's a shoo-in to win which will give him a term until 2024.

If he runs in 2020 and is elected he'll be elected for a term until...2024.

Too old?

[Mike67]

I think he's 74 and will be 78 in 2020

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

As long as he can stay healthy and make sound decisions he's perfectly capable of being President at that age.

[Mike67]

As long as he can stay healthy and make sound decisions he's perfectly capable of being President at that age.

Bernie has the drive of a guy half his age and I do think he will run in 2020. I don't agree with his politics but I respect him for the kind of fighter he seems to be and the strength of his beliefs.

[Make My Bank Account Great Again]

As long as he can stay healthy and make sound decisions he's perfectly capable of being President at that age.

Too bad Jerry Brown couldn't have run this cycle. The man would've been 78 on Election Day, runs three miles every morning, and turned California completely around.

He got elected during the Tea Party wave of 2010, turned California's defecit into a surplus, and boosted our standing in job creation. This was after every conservative pundit on tv claimed that California was already failed state because of looney liberals (omitting that we had a Republican, The Governator, leading us during this time period).

Edit: Also 1 in 5 California Trump voters support Jerry Brown as Governor. Granted they're Californians, but they're still Trump voters. He has more cross over appeal than Hillary Clinton did.

[Figueira]

It's not that he's too old to effectively do his job as President; it's that younger Democrats generally make better candidates.

[Cynthia]

It's not that he's too old to effectively do his job as President; it's that younger Democrats generally make better candidates.

Please provide a name with a younger Democrat being a better candidate than Bernie is.

[Figueira]

It's not that he's too old to effectively do his job as President; it's that younger Democrats generally make better candidates.

Please provide a name with a younger Democrat being a better candidate than Bernie is.

Martin Heinrich

[Crumpets]

The average life expectancy for a male in the US is 79. He will be taking office at that age and presumably (if all goes according to plan) be 87 when he finishes his second term. Even if he is incredibly healthy and makes it to 87, the US would probably find itself in a Chernenko-style governing system for the last few years as it is simply not possible for someone who is 87 to not have their health interfere with their day-to-day life, especially in a job as notoriously aging as the presidency.

If Bernie decides to run, he has to make it clear early that he has a killer VP in mind who would basically have to have just as many qualifications as he has to take the office, so that even if Bernie lives through his term(s), this person could take over should Bernie not be able to commit himself 100% to the presidency. The question then becomes, why pick Bernie when we could have this other person from the start and not have to worry about any of this?

[Doimper]

It's not that he's too old to effectively do his job as President; it's that younger Democrats generally make better candidates.

Please provide a name with a younger Democrat being a better candidate than Bernie is.

Barack Obama

[Mr. Smith]

It's not that he's too old to effectively do his job as President; it's that younger Democrats generally make better candidates.

Please provide a name with a younger Democrat being a better candidate than Bernie is.

Barack Obama

Or Jason Kander even.

[Suburbia]

It's not that he's too old to effectively do his job as President; it's that younger Democrats generally make better candidates.

Please provide a name with a younger Democrat being a better candidate than Bernie is.

Barack Obama

Martin Heinrich, Chris Murphy, Jason Kander, Bakari Sellers, Tulsi Gabbard, Van Jones.

[Mister Mets]

There's a difference between the acceptable age for one of a hundred members in a legislative body and the acceptable age for a chief executive.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

He's next up for reelection to Senate in 2018 and says he'll run again. He's a shoo-in to win which will give him a term until 2024.

If he runs in 2020 and is elected he'll be elected for a term until...2024.

Too old?

Senate elections are not the same as presidential. Thurmond was reelected for his last term at 94. He would hardly be fit to run for President at the same time even if he was somewhat plausible otherwise.

[Xing]

As long as he's in good health, I don't think he's "too old."

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Well, we have a President who will be in his early to mid/late 70's at the end of his Presidency, Bernie is not that much older than Trump, so people who are complaining of Bernie's age are kind of hypocrites in this regard.

[Figueira]

Well, we have a President who will be in his early to mid/late 70's at the end of his Presidency, Bernie is not that much older than Trump, so people who are complaining of Bernie's age are kind of hypocrites in this regard.

Well yeah, Americans in general are hypocrites for only being willing to elect old Presidents if they're Republicans.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

It's not that he's too old to effectively do his job as President; it's that younger Democrats generally make better candidates.

Please provide a name with a younger Democrat being a better candidate than Bernie is.

Martin Heinrich

[Shadows]

He is not too old. For one, he should be in shape to be a good President for the tenure 2020-2024. I think he can lead a movement, come with a Dem House n Senate & get a lot stuff done & move the country in a new direction.

If he is not healthy enough in 2024 & he will be 82-83 odd then, he would step down & let Warren, Booker, etc compete in a primary to be the Dem nominee.

But people forget the campaign stars almost 2 years before a president in sworn in. So realistically 2020 campaign will start around March-April 2019 odd. That is barely a few months after the Senate election & a little more than 2 years from now.

Do you think Bernie will be fit enough 2 years from now? I think so. 2 years is nothing as of now!

[Since I'm the mad scientist proclaimed by myself]

It's not that he's too old to effectively do his job as President; it's that younger Democrats generally make better candidates.

Please provide a name with a younger Democrat being a better candidate than Bernie is.

Barack Obama

Martin Heinrich, Chris Murphy, Jason Kander, Bakari Sellers, Tulsi Gabbard, Van Jones.

Kamela Harris, Ruben Gallego, CCM

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

The Presidency ages you twenty years in eight.

[LLR]

At a minimum he'd be serving 'til he's 83. That's a bit old, no?

[Gass3268]

Unfortunately relevant to this conversation:

Sanders had skin cancer removed from cheek

[TarHeelDem]

I would consider voting for him in the primary and think he could have a decent shot in the general. I'm not sure age matters that much, at least anymore. Either of Biden or Sanders could run, or both.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Age was somewhat of an issue when John McCain ran in 2008 (he was 72 at the time) but it didn't have much of an impact. It was a much bigger issue when Bob Dole ran in 1996, yet Dole is still alive and apparently still doing the bidding of the Taiwan Lobby. McCain is still alive and in good health, as is his Mom at the age of 104!!!

As long as Sanders's health holds up, the fact that Sanders will be 79 on election day 2020 won't be so much of an issue in and of itself as the fact that he'll be 83 in 2024 and 87 at the end of his potential second term in 2028. Now of course Trump is only four years younger than him and in worse health.