Caught in the Clutches of Old Men

Only one president was born after 1960.

I have to be careful making that crack about old men. I’m one of them.

On the other hand, I have something in common with only one U.S. president: I was born after 1960.

That’s Barack Obama. He’s the only one.

Among the other living presidents — current and former — all were born in the 1940s. That’s a long stretch of leadership dominated by Baby Boomers and older.

And it shows.

The median age of Americans is in the late 30s. But the typical president takes office in their late 50s, 60s, even 70s. Lately, it’s skewing even older. Both Biden and Trump have served in their late 70s and beyond.

But the real story isn’t just that Obama is the only president born after 1960. It’s that no Gen X president has ever been elected. Not one.

You’ll hear the argument — we need experience, we need wisdom.

Fine. Then be consistent.

That argument didn’t carry much weight about Biden among Republicans. It doesn’t carry much weight about Trump among Democrats. It’s selective. It’s convenient.

And let’s be honest — someone in their 50s isn’t lacking wisdom. Neither is someone in their 40s, especially when the country itself is much younger.

So at what point should leadership start to look like the people it represents?

The same question applies elsewhere. Women make up more than half the population. Still no woman president. That’s no longer a small oversight. It’s a glaring absence when you compare the U.S. to other Western nations.

Now, eventually, the calendar will solve part of this. Time moves forward whether politics does or not. That’s the unbending nature of the time-space continuum we live in. We will get more presidents born after 1960.

But here’s the catch.

By the time that happens, will they be considered old?

Will we still be governed by people shaped by a world two or three generations removed from the one most Americans actually live in?

To be clear, this isn’t an argument against older leaders. Some will absolutely be the best choice — more qualified, steadier, better suited for the moment. But sometimes they won’t be.

And right now, the system leans heavily in one direction.

Look at Congress. The average Senator is around 65. The average House member is pushing 60. Both far older than the country they represent, where the median is 38.

That disconnect may be part of why younger voters check out.

If you’re in your 30s or 40s, you look at the system and wonder: when does it become our turn?

And if the answer keeps feeling like “not anytime soon,” it’s not hard to see why some people stop showing up.

Let me know what you think. And it’s okay if you’re over the median. Like me.