As I was watching Nikki Haley’s speech announcing her intent to run for president, I was shocked by the extremism of her proposal that candidates aged 75 or older would have to face mandatory cognitive health testing.
On the surface, I get the politics — she’s running against Biden and Trump, who are both 75+. And age is a legitimate political issue. Would-be presidents have been running on it, well, forever.
John F. Kennedy famously proclaimed, “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans” in his successful bid in 1960. (Haley’s speechwriter invoked tones of JFK’s speech in several places.)
Bill Clinton’s supporters made the age of the incumbent, George H.W. Bush, an issue in his successful campaign in 1992.
So ageism in this context has worked before. But I question the politics of taking such an extreme position. First, it risks alienating supporters of both Biden and Trump. Perhaps more importantly, older voters are a large and growing percentage of the electorate, and Republicans are more reliant on elderly voters than Democrats.
For those reasons it may prove to be a risky politIcal strategy.
Like many rhetorical devices employed by the speechwriters for candidates, this one might have looked good on paper. But it may well backfire out in the open air.
In my view, it’s an early indication that Nikki Haley, whatever her virtues as a candidate, isn’t yet ready for prime time.
Probably she just needs a bit more age…
LINKS:
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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), a one-time GOP presidential nominee, warned that a large field of Republican presidential candidates next year could propel Donald Trump to the party's nomination again, unless the contest is "narrowed down to a two-person race eventually." Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Tuesday became the first Republican to challenge Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, calling for "a new generation of leadership."[HuffPost]
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