Can you vote for a man younger than you?

Star Beacon

April 23, 2008 02:18 pm

— I caught Barack Obama on TV recently, speaking from the Penn State campus in Erie.
He seemed like a genuine guy. He was eloquent. He was concerned.
When a frail veteran wanted to ask a question, Obama brought the microphone to him and gave him a hug.
All politicians make promises. All have grandiose plans. But generally, Obama seems acceptable.
Except I don’t know if I can vote for him.
You see, I’m getting to the age when I compare my age to others. Am I old enough to have a president younger than me? I’m not talking a year or two. Obama is more than a year younger than my baby brother.
He was born in 1961, the year the first president to be born in the 20th century took the oath of office, that being John F. Kennedy. Barack was little more than 2 when Kennedy was assassinated.
Sorry, it just doesn’t seem right to have a president that much younger than me.
Already, U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette is younger than me, although by less than a year. That’s not too difficult to take.
Fortunately both U.S. senators are older than, although Sherrod Brown bests me by less than a year.
Thank God George Voinovich is older than the hills.
Hillary Clinton fits me more comfortably age-wise. I figure when Hillary was a senior in high school, I was still in grade school. That’s not too bad. Barack was 4.
An even more comfortable fit age-wise is John McCain. He’s close to my mother’s age. He’s old enough to be my father. Now that makes a guy feel younger, to have a president old enough to be my father.
The oldest woman in the world, Edna Parker, was born April 20, 1893, the same day as silent film great Harold Lloyd. If I compare myself to her, I’m not even middle age!
Son Derek promises when wife and I turn 55, he will take us to Denny’s and we can pick anything off the seniors menu, for those 55 and older, and he will pay for it.
People these days say 50 is the new 30 and 80 is the new 60. I usually think of that as a load of, well, debris, but there are indications people do stay young longer. Look at Mick Jagger. He may have wrinkles, but he can run, leap, dance and sing without getting winded after better than two hours on stage. Come July, he turns 65.
Back in 1950, the classic film “Sunset Boulevard” was released, starring Gloria Swanson as the aged Norma Desmond. She was a great actress in the silent film age. The film has her as an old, forgotten has-been. She’s talking about making a comeback, but everyone laughs behind her back. It must be senility setting in.
At the time, Swanson was 53.
Or how about the creepy has-been Bette Davis played in the spooky “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” She was 54 at the time.
Pamela Sue Martin, famous for playing Nancy Drew, is 54 today. Can you see her playing Baby Jane? Or Mary Steenburgen, or Kim Bassinger?
Speaking of ages, consider singer Buddy Holly, the guy the Beatles patterned themselves after, the man whose music influenced so many. He was a mere 22 when he died. Brian Jones, founder of the Rolling Stones and father of a few dozen kids, was only 27 when found dead in a swimming pool. That’s the same age as my son.
In fact, 27 is a standard age for rock stars to die. Others include Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain.
There’s a few less-famous examples. Classic bluesman Robert Johnson, who wrote “Love in Vain” and influenced Hendrix, also died at 27, of strychnine poisoning.
Actor James Dean, who influenced so many, was a mere 24 when he learned driving too fast can be fatal.
But let’s step away from death for awhile. I was impressed with Ellen Page’s acting in “Juno” and “Hard Candy.” She looks young and for good reason. She turned 21 a few months ago. She’s more than two years younger than my daughter. Heck, she’s only seven years older than my dog, Casey. The man who played her father in “Juno,” the crusty, ancient-looking J.K. Simmons, is better than a year YOUNGER than me. Ack!
Or how about Miley Cyrus, who at the ripe old age of 15 signed a book deal to tell her life story. Is it a book or a pamphlet?
Of course, 15 is the new 12.
Lebzelter is special sections editor, when he feels up to it. E-mail him at bobleb@starbeacon.com.

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