CBS this morning’s Mo Rocca joined News On 6 at 4 to talk about the Presidential debate, his new book Roctogenarians, and how old age shouldn’t be viewed with such a negative tone.
See the transcript below.
Tatum: As the first presidential debate between President Biden and the presumptive Republican nominee former President Donald Trump will say the age of the two candidates is one of the biggest issues for voters in November. Whoever wins the election will be the oldest person ever to take the oath of office. [Mo] you posted about the politician’s age today on Instagram and the wisdom that often comes with age. We want to start there.
Rocca: Yeah, look, I understand the concern about the age of the candidates. We it makes a lot of sense. I mean, I’m worried about a gerontocracy, not just in the White House, but also in Congress in the Senate. I think both of these guys should submit to a mental acuity test, I think it would be an amazing live television event. If we did that right there, right tested them. But we’ve heard so much about the downside and of age, and it’s overwhelmed. It’s eclipsed the very real advantages that come with age. And, you know, we do live in an ageist society, and ageism is really stupid, because there are people of advanced age with so much talent and so much experience. And to just dismiss that out of hand by focusing on the number I think is really foolish,
Tatum: One thing that somebody older has the one thing that, say Coop and I don’t, is the life experience. And that is often the greatest teacher and you bring that life experience to the table and you think of somebody in a leadership position. It doesn’t have to be just president, but really anything in life life experience is really important.
Rocca: Yeah, I think it is. And the thing I’ve learned is that the older you get, the less you care about what other people think of you, which I think is a real strength. So you’re able to act in a more unfettered way. You’re not thinking constantly about what other people are gonna think of you because you realize what’s the point of worrying? And I think also, when you’re a public servant of advanced age, you’re not doing things for yourself, because you understand that you’re probably not going to live that much longer. I mean, I know it’s, I’m putting it in a really blunt, almost morbid way, but I think that you tend to act. This is a general generality, but with more grace and, and more generosity, because you’re doing it for the future.
