Notes of Concern…
…Jack Blair
1700 -vs- 2000
What was the life expectancy in 1776?
35 years to 47 years of age !
Article II in the U.S. Constitution ( 1700s) states that In order to qualify to serve as president, a person must be a natural born citizen of the United States or a citizen at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, at least 35 years old and a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.
The first president to be born an American citizen was Martin Van Buren.
In the 1700s when a young America was wrestling with the formation of a Constitution, they specifically laid out in Article Two the qualifications to be president:
What were they looking for? Experience in life. Wisdom. Leadership abilities witnessed by others. Keeping in mind that life expectancy at the time was 35-47 years of age (due largely to many infant deaths), I think we can posit they were looking for a senior gentleman, known to the country to have the qualities I outlined above.
Fast forward to 2015. Life expectance today is into the 80’s. You do the math. I think it safe to say if they were forming the constitution today the lower limit to the age required for the presidency would probably be 50 years of age or higher. We can argue a year here or there but they would not be looking for someone 35-40 with little experience.Less than one term in the U.S. Senate? Never having run a state? Never having held a political office or seen how the system works? Give me a brake. We would have to be nuts.
Our nation is burdened by great threats both inside and out. The Constitution gives broad powers to the executive branch of government. Perhaps it is time to bring some of these archaic principles and requirements, appropriate to the 1700s into the 21st century.
Since the Congress is unlikely to take on the broad project of amending the Constitution too make it a more modern reflection of reality, especially since to do so would limit some of their powers, I am suggesting here what I think would be appropriate.
A candidate for president of the United States should be a natural born citizen and should be at least 50 years of age.
A candidate for president must have had considerable applicable experience, shown to be important to governing on of the world’s largest superpowers. These experiences must at the least include one or more of the following:
a sitting Vice President (rules for candidacy for VP same as for President), therefore already determined to be qualified to step up, or
a U.S.Senator who has completed at least two full terms in the U.S. Senate,or
a Congressman who has completed at least six years in the House of Representatives,or
a Governor of a State who has run that state for at least one full term.
(I intentionally leave out experience as the CEO of a major company because I know that experience in management is very different from what is required in managing the nation. A CEO typically rises from the ranks of the business in which he succeeds. He has qualities that could make him a good president but if that is his goal he should leave the business world and spend some time as a governor or senator before embarking on a campaign for president.)
It is a recognized scientific fact that we lose brain cells daily. While we wish it were otherwise, no one ages with the same alacrity of thought, keen ability to be planful and active in dangerous situations, and then begins the onslaught of medical problems.
Although this does not apply to all, it applies to most, so I would add as a qualification no president should retain that position past the age of 78 and should not be a candidate for president if the term would take him beyond age 78.
Because we live longer we have a much larger group of living ex-presidents. Collectively they possess an unparalleled treasure of experience. They should be required, since living very much at government expense and protection beyond their presidential years, to become part of a new “kitchen cabinet” for the sitting president, regardless of party or personality.
This group should meet officially four times a year with the president and should be on call for emergency situations. A house, in Washington DC, like Blair house, should be established with sufficient bedrooms and living quarters and a conference room to provide the location for their quarterly and emergency meetings. Just having all this experience in one place, a place where the current president could sit informally with his predecessors and brainstorm what is happening in the world, could be a huge asset.
I have met most of the living former presidents and one of the things that stood out was that most had abandoned politics. They really don't see themselves as Republican or Democrat. Something about serving in The White House gives them a much broader view on the world. So I would not worry about politics interfering with their discussions or their advice. No one is better qualified to offer advice to a sitting president than the small group who sat in that chair before him.
In any event, I am just forwarding an idea that I think is realistic. We should not be governing or applying rules that fit circumstances in the 1770s to events of the 2000s.
So however many votes I might have left in my life I intend to cast based on what I have outlined in this column. I know it won’t make a difference but to me I will feel I am acting more responsibly when picking our leaders.
I have some similar views on the Supreme Court that I will share in a later column.
