Age before beauty, but not politics

And now, the politics of age. Hey, this is important. Grow up and pay attention.

Young, left-leaning candidates are revolting against older, traditional Democrats in primary elections around the country. Meanwhile, the bestknown, most talked-about potential presidential candidates are Bernie Sanders, 77; Joe Biden, 75; and Elizabeth Warren, 69.

And in the House, where the top three Democratic leaders are in hailing range of 80, there’s a certain, um, restlessness on the part of the young folks.

“I don’t care how good you are — there is a generational gap,” said Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut. Himes, 52, is the head of the New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of moderate party members. There are a trillion of these groups in the House, but I feel safe in saying that the New Democrat Coalition is more important than, say, the Cement Caucus or the Auto Care Caucus.

We have had political generation gaps before. Back in the day, student protesters yelled “Never trust anybody over 30!” The people who did the yelling are now in their 70s, and I dare say have a more expansive view. The current gap is much more polite. (The millennials are coming!) In the House, it seems pretty much confined to the Democratic side of the aisle.