[JohnnyB]

I'm not too supportive of upper age limits to run or to serve in office. If someone's healthy and still mentally clear, I don't really mind how old they are. One of the most creative, bright, and productive friends I have must be in his mid-seventies. I would have guessed he was late-fifties based on his appearance before I started piecing together some of his life experiences but in terms of his mental capacities and vitality he could be in his thirties, and he's very knowledgeable and forward thinking on innovation. He also has accumulated a lot of wisdom over the years and I have loads of respect for his insights and advice.

The disadvantage I see with having such old politicians is that the longer people live and the longer they have plugged into networks and career, the more time they have to build up the professional and social capital to compete in politics, and that this creates a huge advantage for older participants against younger participants. I don't see that as particularly healthy, as it just means that entrenched powers stay entrenched and you get very powerful barriers to change along with a quasi-permanent governing class who are also largely gatekeepers for access to political power. Maybe that's not something that can really be avoided in the end. I imagine even if you set the limit at 45, you would still have the same entrenched influences playing their parts.