But whatever voters or elites think, the fact is that current life expectancy for American men is 77.28 years, according to the World Bank. Both Biden and Trump have already passed that marker. Both take medication to control cholesterol that extend longevity by only about a year. One of them seems to have trouble sticking to a healthy diet and doing the right amount of exercise. The other does exercise, but demonstrably appears “off his game” cognitively.

Most of us with aging parents know to make plans for when an older relative dies – or becomes incapacitated. But what are the major political parties’ plans for this situation? And are they any good?

[Liz correctly identifies the problem, but her solution is very problematic — a kind of ranked-choice system that would essentially freeze the field and have candidates vie for the silver and bronze medals all the way to the end. Not only will that be clunky, it will essentially relieve voters of their responsibility to consider the age problem at all. It punts those decisions to the smoke-filled back rooms of yore. Better to demand that voters in both parties face their age problem directly and vote responsibly in light of it. — Ed]