Jimmy Carter says he couldn't have managed presidency at 80

[bluewater]

Weeks shy of his 95th birthday, former President Jimmy Carter said he doesn’t believe he could have managed the most powerful office in the world at 80 years old.
Carter, who earlier this year became the longest-lived chief executive in American history, didn’t tie his comments to any of his fellow Democrats running for president in 2020, but two leading candidates, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, would turn 80 during their terms if elected.

Biden is 76. Sanders is 78.

“I hope there’s an age limit,” Carter said with a laugh as he answered audience questions on Tuesday during his annual report at the Carter Center in Atlanta. “If I were just 80 years old, if I was 15 years younger, I don’t believe I could undertake the duties I experienced when I was president.”

Carter’s observation came in response to a jovial inquiry about whether he had considered running in 2020 since he’s still constitutionally allowed another term. The 39th president left office in 1981 at the age of 56 after losing his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan, who served two terms and left office as the oldest sitting president in history, at 77.
Either Biden or Sanders would be older upon their inauguration than Reagan was on his final day in the Oval Office. At 73, President Donald Trump is a record setter, as well. He eclipsed Reagan’s mark as the oldest newly elected president in history and would become the oldest president to be reelected. Age has been a flashpoint for some critics of Trump, Sanders and Biden.

Carter, who turns 95 on Oct. 1, said the Oval Office requires a president “to be very flexible with your mind,” particularly on foreign affairs. He was speaking on the 41st anniversary of the Camp David Accords, a peace agreement he negotiated with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

“You have to be able to go from one subject to another and concentrate on each one adequately and then put them together in a comprehensive way, like I did between Begin and Sadat with the peace agreement,” Carter said.
“The things I faced in foreign affairs, I don’t think I could undertake them at 80 years old,” he continued, before adding with a smile: “At 95, it’s out of the question. I’m having a hard time walking.”

Carter said he remains undecided in the 2020 primary.

https://thegrio.com/2019/09/18/jimmy-carter-says-he-couldnt-have-managed-presidency-at-80/

Well, President Carter might be 95 years old, but he remains sharp as a tack. He has been president AND he has been 80 years old... so he is speaking on a subject he is uniquely qualified to comment on.

Let's respect that.

President Carter is both a very honest and very humble man.

[pangaia]

1. everybody is different. that may actually be 100% true for most of the population

but RBG is 86, i believe. her brain seems to be just fine...

mine at 76, on the other hand..... i sometimes have trouble counting bars rest

[Moostache]

5. Justice on SCOTUS versus responsibilities of POTUS though? Fair comparison?

I don't know about individual's stamina or mental acuity or concentration, but I do know this...our country is functioning without an actual President, without permanent appointees to key positions and without anything approaching a long view right now.

Trump in a second term is truly frightening to contemplate - age or not. Biden and Sanders (and Warren too...she is nearing 70 herself) should be evaluated on their campaign ideas and performance and then (if medical or age concerns persist) on their choice of a potential running mate.

My preference remains Buttigieg at the top of the ticket, but I am convinced our VP needs to come from the list of Mayor Pete, Kamala Harris, Corey Booker or Beto. In all honesty, any of them paired with Biden or Warren would make a strong ticket. I am not feeling the Bern as much in 2019 as I was in 2015-2016, but that is just my reaction to his campaign and not an indictment of the man or his ideas.

If we balance experience and service with youth and forward-looking focus, then we can beat Trump and his idiocy...but only if the party unites and drives turn-out as if our very lives depend on it, because they DO.

[Pacifist Patriot]

7. I'll be brutally honest.

I don't think I have the physical stamina or mental focus and agility to be POTUS at 50!

[pangaia]

10. honesty pays...

[sharedvalues]

9. RBG is too old and should have stepped down under Obama

Love love love RBG. But she’s too old.

[pangaia]

11. do you mean too old for the USSC?

[Pacifist Patriot]

15. Great, we'd have had another hijacked seat McConnell would have handed to Trump.

I wouldn't think her up for the grueling schedule of a POTUS, but her legal acumen doesn't seem to be remotely hindered by her age.

[Polybius]

17. Obama's first two years had a Democratic Majority Senate

Not saying that I think she should have stepped down then though. It's her choice. She might stay even if a Democrat is elected in 2020.

[sharedvalues]

22. The danger is she dies in next 1.5 years

[LanternWaste]

2. A good man speaks for himself... as Carter did.

He offered no pretense that his own limitations would apply to anyone other than himself-- as that would be (at best) very, very disingenuous (even if awkwardly implied merely for the pitiable sake of a narrative unsupported by evidence)... and thankfully, Pres Carter is an 'honest man.'

"Let's respect that, indeed..."

[bluewater]

4. Individuals should be judged on their own memory lapses, misspoken words & ability to stay on topic

That is absolutely true.

Indeed, let's respect that.

And not ignore it when those things all happen... for anyone.

[bluewater]

19. reduced to BASHING President Jimmy Carter now?

Not a good look.

[Thekaspervote]

14. This!! Jimmy Carter is a good man.. he was speaking for himslef

[Hoyt]

3. The key to me is whether the Prez is likely to select and listen to exceptional advisers, appoint

knowledgeable Cabinet and Department heads, work with Congress, and lead and reassure people when necessary.

I suspect Carter could have done that at 80.

I also think Biden is more likely to accomplish that than the other two "elderly" candidates.

[MaryMagdaline]

6. I love Jimmy to death; my first presidential vote in my lifetime (1980)

but PLEASE be quiet.

What you should have said is "I could never have been President as a pathological liar."

[sharedvalues]

8. I agree. 80 is too old

I like Bernie, a lot. I’ll vote for any Dem in the general.

But 80 is too old.

If one of the 80 yr olds win, the selection of VP will be one of the most important decisions of 2020.

[andym]

12. Carter is brutally honest, and it's true that his management style required a great deal of vigor.

Jimmy Carter micromanaged the Presidency-- that was his style, which is very difficult to pull off at the highest levels as one loses vigor. Many successful Presidents (and CEOs) have been delegators, who hire and then follow the advice of talented people. So, Carter's statement holds more for him and people like him than anyone else.

[elocs]

16. Well, obviously Carter is ageist, right?

Because there can be no other answer.

[colsohlibgal]

18. He Speaks Truth

Warren is around 70 but doesn’t look it or act it. Joe is 76, looks it and frequently acts it. Where will he be mentally in 5 or 9 years? It concerns me not totally sure why it isn’t any kind of worry for the rabid pro Joe folks.

Oh and Carter is the most decent man ever to be President.

[bluewater]

20. You are right, Jimmy Carter is one of the most decent people ever to be President.

[grossproffit]

21. I'm no fan of Bernie but he's sharper than most who are 1/2 his age.