Gerontocracy Watch
5th August 2023
There has been no shortage of reminders of the gerontocracy in which we live lately. Last week brought two in the Senate.
One was Mitch McConnell’s worrying freeze-up at a press conference when he had to be helped away from reporters. The second came courtesy of Dianne Feinstein, who had to be prompted several times when asked to cast her vote on the Defense Appropriations Bill. “Say aye,” Senator Patty Murray of Washington told her ninety-year-old colleague from California. There are presumably other examples courtesy of the octogenarian commander-in-chief, but they are so frequent these days that it can be hard to keep track.
Feinstein’s age-related shortcomings have made news again. In a story published yesterday, the New York Times reports on Feinstein’s family fight over her late husband’s estate.