Where Age, Power Go Together - Washington Accepts Elderly Leaders

washingtonpost.com ^ | Tuesday, March 29, 2005 | John F. Harris

[crushelits]

Among the ranks of the Fortune 500, just 11 corporate chief executives have remained in their jobs past the age of 70. Of the 100 members of the U.S. Senate, by contrast, 22 have reached septuagenarian status -- and seven of them are either older than 80 or will be before their terms expire.

Of the U.S. Supreme Court justices, only one -- Clarence Thomas, 56 -- is not old enough to collect Social Security.

These numbers make it plain that the top tier of the federal government remains the most welcoming arena in American society for people who want to keep high-powered jobs late in life. Aged and influential is such a common combination that most of the time it draws little notice.

This winter, however, a confluence of events -- most prominently, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's battle with cancer at age 80 -- has put new focus on the phenomenon of Geriatric Washington. Experts on retirement and leadership succession said the capital accepts infirmities in important officials far beyond what is typically tolerated in the highest-level jobs in the private sector.

The difference between top jobs in Washington and those in most other fields is simple: The Constitution says legislators can stay as long as voters agree, and justices can stay as long as they want.

Deciding whether this is good or bad, experts on aging say, is more complex. History offers plenty of examples of prominent officials for whom age and wisdom rose in tandem. There are also plenty of examples of people who cleaved to prestigious jobs long after physical and mental declines were obvious to colleagues, and became the stuff of capital gossip.