Older and Wiser?
Haley proposes mental competency test for politicians over 75
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said this week that she will be a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
That announcement made news. And so did something else she talked about.
Haley caused quite a stir on Wednesday when she proposed a mandatory mental competency test for elected officials over the age of 75.
She framed it as a way, along with term limits, to get rid of “permanent politicians” and open the door to a younger generation of leaders.
“America is not past our prime,” Haley said Wednesday. “It’s just that our politicians are past theirs.”
But most saw it as direct challenge to incumbent President Joe Biden who is 80.
And to the presumed front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, former President Donald Trump, age 76, as well.
There are currently 16 U.S. Senators — about one-sixth of the total — who are 75 or older. And more than 30 members of the U.S. House of Representatives fall into that age bracket. We can’t imagine they’ll show much enthusiasm for the idea.
One could reasonably ask why limit the test to those over 75? Isn’t that ageism? Why not test the mental competency of all who run for the White House or Congress?
Of course, there are a few younger members of Congress who might not want to take that chance.
We don’t see this going anywhere. No matter how young or old, members of Congress are loathe to do anything that might keep them from staying right where they are.
But Haley made her political point. She raised the issue of age and competency.
She might do well to remember, though, as 75-year-old U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah pointed out this week, President Ronald Reagan faced similar rumblings over his age from Democratic nominee Walter Mondale during their second presidential debate in 1984..
“I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,” Reagan, then 73, said.
We all know who won that election.