When is an appropriate time for an elder to give way to those younger than themselves, in regard to positions of authority? Is it only at the moment of dementia when the faculties begin to fade? Should it be a “fair” age for everyone – say, they hit sixty and have to give way to the next generation? If it is not a flat age, should a person in power have to commit to a cognitive decline test to see if they are still fit for office? When President Biden was in office, there were certainly plenty of conservatives who lamented, “Sleepy Joe," just as there are now liberals who point out President Trump’s mindless rambling behind the podium (as during his speech to the U.S. Generals recently).

The average age of the U.S. Senate (from Congress.gov) is 63.9 years of age, that number brought down by our two “young” senators, Jon Ossoff, born in 1987 at 37 years old and Tim Sheehy, born 1985 at 38 years old. Congress has only been getting older with time, as has the age of the presidents. George Washington was 57, Lincoln was 52, Grant was 46, Roosevelt was 42, and Kennedy 43.

For more recent numbers, Bush was 54 and Obama 47.

Those still aren't modern numbers though. Obama had a blackberry cellular phone and was considered “hip” and in with the times when he first took office. No, our “modern” presidents, Trump and Biden are 79 and 82 years old, respectively. At those ages they are old enough to be great-grandparents, and what they have in common with anyone under the age of fifty I could not guess. And then again there is Congress, and the U.S. Senate, whose oldest member is Chuck Grassley at 91 years old.

Washington seems to be an assisted living center, paid for by taxpayers. One whose members trade stocks with immunity, making money twice over at the cost of their constituents wellbeing, and then thrice by accepting “donations" from giant corporations and (also!) other countries (such as Israel – looking at you, Ted Cruz – or many others). Aye, the republican congressmen, and women might point at poor people for “abusing the system,” all the while it is they (and Democrats too, they just don't pretend to complain about it) who enjoy a ludicrous amount of welfare at the cost of the hardworking American citizen.

So we have these Elderly-Congressmen and Presidents, holding onto power and ‘juicing an orange’ (squeezing money thrice-over out of the American layman) – Democrats and Republicans both. And then the politicians wonder after how they can entice the younger voters to the polls, and all the younger voters see are greedy, geriatric vampires who either make policy decisions on how much money they can make, if they can stay in power, or if that decision will help them settle a grudge that should have died out forty years ago.

And then we get to the crux:

Choosing Presidential candidates.

The thing is, there is such a word as “kingmaker." It is like it sounds, generally, a person who makes a king. More than that though, at its core it’s a person who sets someone else up to rule, and not in the negative way. The negative side of that word is “puppet master." A puppet master puts a puppet on stage to do what the master says. But to make a real “Leader of the Free World," requires sacrificing your own power and authority and granting it to that person who you would have rule. It requires time and money and power invested in another. Someone who is intelligent, charismatic, competent, has a spine, and likely handsome to one degree or another.

The type of person to easily inspire envy in another person.

And our Greedy Geriatric Vampires seem unable to bring about true leaders who are not senile. Perhaps it is because they are greedy and full of envy, or that their lives would fall apart if they were sucking the lifeblood out of the government, or that they are geriatric, and too often do the geriatric dismiss the competence and intelligence of those younger.

Bloomberg wrote an article,

(Kamala) “Harris Has an Advantage Over Trump: Being a Woman”, or another article from  LA times: “Whom should Democrat's back, a ‘strait old white guy,’ or Kamal Harris?”

Oh yeah, it looks like Democrats really have their stuff together there. No new king-made, “youthful" (middle aged) Leaders of the Free World. Yet another 61-year-old vampire with all the charisma of tree bark, who (as per the title of those recent articles) is a better choice because she is A: not a male, and B: not white. Florida is at it again, unleashing representative Republican Randy Fine on the sleepy United States, who called for the 22nd amendment (which disallows for presidents to serve a third term) to be abolished so that President Trump can serve a third term.

He did say something like, “There will never be another one like him." Except I would wage hard money that isn't true. You mean to tell me that there will not be a Greedy Geriatric Vampire to run for office again?

Republicans don't want to play kingmaker either, clearly. It would just be easier for them if their orange replacement of Jesus on their mantle would stay alive a little while longer.

Democrats, Republicans both deserve each other, and honestly? I'd pay big money to watch them have to do those potato sack races. Then we could bet whether or not they would try to rig the outcomes to make money, or if their geriatric hips would break after landing the first, second, or third hop.

No, The United States needs a better leader than the ones we have been stuck with. I'm not saying to elect this 33-year-old journalist (too handsome for TV), but perhaps not someone flirting with heart attacks and strokes while the person next to them carries a briefcase with a button to launch nukes. But bringing up that leader would require sacrifice of money, power, and authority by the old guard, and because they are greedy, we laymen and women get stuck with options of un-authoritative and uninspiring geezers.

Austin Petak is an aspiring novelist and freelance journalist who loves seeking stories and the quiet passions of the soul. If you are interested in reaching out to him to cover a story, you may find him at austinpetak@gmail.com.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.