Age-old spotlight focuses on Feinstein

Dianne Feinstein returned to Washington recently after a three-month absence. The California senator, a formidable member of the chamber through most of her six terms, seemed disturbingly diminished as she was pushed through the Capitol in a wheelchair.

The left side of her face was frozen. One eye was nearly shut. She was frail and appeared disoriented. And all of this — the result of a debilitating bout with shingles that led to vision and balance problems, facial paralysis, and post-shingles encephalitis, a brain-swelling condition that can create a host of temporary and longer-lasting impairments — came on top of serious existing memory issues that led even those close to her to worry about her mental capacity to do the job.

Feinstein is 89.

And her situation has rekindled the age-old debate about how old is too old in politics — a debate that resonates, though perhaps not as visibly, across all aspects of our society.

Aging gracefully can be difficult to do in private, much less a public fishbowl like the U.S. Senate. And it's not only Feinstein. Questions also have been raised about the two leading 2024 presidential contenders — President Joe Biden, who is 80, and former President Donald Trump, who turns 77 next month.

Feinstein's situation is more acute — and more telling.

She is one of 16 senators who are 75 or older. The median age of her colleagues is 65.3. When you consider the nature of the job — its long and grueling days, the number of decisions bearing big consequences, the knowledge and engagement needed on a wide variety of issues, and the stamina required for incessant exchanges with donors, lobbyists and constituents — the closest approximation in our culture might be chief executive officer of a corporation. And their median age, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is 51.7. For judges and magistrates, it's 53.8.

Senators have staff to do a lot of work, you might say. So do CEOs. And it certainly is fair to point out that for every Dianne Feinstein, there is an 81-year-old Bernie Sanders in apparent full possession of his wits and energy. And a 92-year-old Warren Buffett, the financial wizard whose words and actions are still eagerly parsed by millions.

It's also fair to note that Senate, senator, senior and senile share the same Latin root — senex, meaning "old man."

Many of us have experience with an older friend or family member. We know aging is relative. It's subjective. It's personal. No older politician is who they were when they were younger. None of us are. But at what point do the creeping detriments of age outweigh the hard-earned attributes of time? At what point do the fruits of wisdom shrink in the face of advancing vicissitudes? When does an elder statesman or stateswoman morph into Lear wandering across the storm-ravaged heath?

And if the stakes are high for a senator, they are more so — much more so — for a president. Which means the analysis — by voters as well as the candidates and officeholders themselves — must be more cold-eyed and clear-minded.

Whether it's Feinstein, Biden, Trump or someone else, the question is whether their constituents are getting the representation they deserve. Your past might have brought you laurels, but can you still serve? Politics is a blood sport, it's said, and in sports you're only as good as you are today.

For Feinstein, she has no "right" to finish out her term if she can't fulfill its duties. That's not something you earn with longevity. It's easy to become confused, mistaking what you are for who you are. Sometimes, the only honest thing to do is step away. 

But for everyone, capability is a judgment call, one often filtered through partisan lenses. As the next election approaches, we all would be wise to cast those lenses aside.

Columnist Michael Dobie's opinions are his own.

By Michael Dobie

michael.dobie@newsday.commwdobie

Michael Dobie is a member of the Newsday editorial board.