What Ben Franklin can teach us about aging politicians

An 81-year-old politician faces a combination of admiration and ridicule as he embarks on his pivotal, decisive chapter. He moves more slowly, speaks more softly, but his mind remains sharp and his moxie intact.

The politician is not President Joe Biden, but Benjamin Franklin. As an octogenarian, he was by far the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention. Many doubted whether Franklin was up to the task and snickered behind his back, but he proved them wrong. He contributed mightily, helping to set a tone of compromise and crafting a breakthrough that saved the day, and the young republic.

There is no better model for the elderly politician than Franklin. The last third of his long life (he lived until 84) was by far the most interesting, and the first two-thirds were downright fascinating.

It was in his closing act, a time when he could have been doing the colonial-era equivalent of golfing in Florida, that he accomplished the most and changed the most. This was when Franklin the Loyalist became Franklin the Rebel and, later, when Franklin the Enslaver became Franklin the Abolitionist. This was when he charmed the French into supporting the American cause, ensuring the revolution was a success.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/25/opinions/what-franklin-teaches-us-about-aging-politicians-weiner/index.html