Re “Calif. Dems considering age cap for officeholders” (May 4): The California Democratic Party is considering prohibiting otherwise qualified candidates from holding elected office purely because of their age. Confronting head-on the concern of cognitive impairment in the likes of Joe Biden or Diane Feinstein is clumsily avoided by making age a proxy for the real concern. In a democracy, elections let the people decide who is best qualified for the office in question. “We the people” evaluate candidates and choose the most qualified among those on the ballot.
If the “new generation” of Democrats is frustrated by their elders, it is up to them to make the case why they should lead — not by creating arbitrary criteria that excludes their competitors. At 94, Warren Buffett led Berkshire Hathaway to sterling success. Age is not the problem; cognitive limitation is. To confuse one with the other is irresponsible.
— Jonathan Scheff, La Jolla
