Why it’s heartening to see young voters support our oldest presidential candidates

The disrespect in our society for older Americans, particularly old white men, has long been accepted as one of the last palatable prejudices. More than any other nation, America doesn’t just celebrate the younger generation; it too often treats with disdain anyone over the age of 50.

But on recent visits to Washington and New York (just before the coronavirus frenzy reached its current level of disproportional irrationality) to speak with high school and college students about journalism and politics, I was heartened that young Americans were supporting some of our oldest presidential candidates.

President Trump’s support from young Republicans is unwavering, and it is well-known that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., attracts fervent support from young liberals. The students I met with were mostly from the political left (my annual visits are typically framed as exposing students to “a view from the other side”), so their preference for Sanders was not surprising.

While their backing of a socialist, even a self-described “democratic socialist,” ran counter to my political leanings, I still found it gratifying that the object of their political admiration was a man in his late 70s.

As it stands now, when Inauguration Day rolls around in January, the presidential oath will be administered to a white man who by then will be either 74 (President Trump), 78 (former vice president Joe Biden) or 79 (Sanders). While many on the left bemoan the lack of racial or gender diversity among the major candidates still standing, one might take solace in this election bucking the societal trend of treating older Americans like disposable razors.

We are constantly told that advertisers care only about consumers ages 18 to 35, who are described so often as “coveted” that the adjective might as well have been coined for them. Every year brings complaints that the Academy Awards are controlled by old white men. Even former president Barack Obama said last December that much of the world’s problems can be attributed to “old men, not getting out of the way.” And don’t even try to dismiss this baby boomer’s opinion with an eye-rolling “OK, boomer,” a put-down of my generation that has, over the past couple of years, gone from flippant wit to overused cliche.

I was fortunate to grow up with all my grandparents living into their 80s and 90s. My father’s parents were at our small farm almost every day, “Papaw” helping with the crops, “Mamaw” busy around the house and in the garden. Respect for older people wasn’t taught; it was ingrained as part of daily life. Outside the United States, aged citizens are usually revered, rather than unceremoniously shunted aside. Members of numerous cultures, such as Native Americans, Koreans, Chinese and Indian people, respect their elder citizens and turn to them for wisdom.

Perhaps that’s starting to happen more here. After numerous dropouts narrowed the Democratic race to a contest between Sanders and Biden, most students I met with said they would be OK with Biden. In fact, they would be OK with anyone who could beat Trump. But several expressed concerns over whether Biden’s various gaffes indicate his age is catching up to him.

In other words, the age of the candidates didn’t bother them; how well the candidates were aging was important, though. For example, most of the students indicated that their second choice for president behind Sanders was his big-government female counterpart, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is, they agreed, a “young 70.”

Since the Democratic Party will be saddled with the unthinkable – an old white man at the top of the ticket – both Biden and Sanders are feeling pressure to choose a woman as a running mate. How much most Americans, including women, care about that is uncertain. Democratic women who voted on Super Tuesday earlier this month chose Biden or Sanders over Warren, according to Washington Post exit polling. (Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar had dropped out of the race.)

Whether voters’ preference for older candidates is a sign of elder respect or a mere coincidence resulting from random political developments, it was encouraging that the students I encountered weren’t generally troubled by anyone’s advanced years.

And on the other hand, every generation tends to think the one following it has lost its way, that things aren’t as good as they used to be, that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. A lot of us might be well-served to pause once in a while, calm down, take a good look in the mirror and say, “OK, boomer.”