By TalkTV’s Piers Morgan
The two most famous 80-year-olds on the planet are probably President Joe Biden and Mick Jagger.
You can judge for yourself which one of them is wearing their years with the most panache. And for that matter, which one of them is better-suited to being leader of the free world.
One looks like he’s never slept and doesn’t need to. The other is usually asleep.
One can’t get no satisfaction. The other – well – let’s be honest, he can’t get up the stairs.
But as Mick Jagger – an icon of Britain – turns 80, it’s worth reflecting on the man and myth who’s become a medical and cultural marvel.
It’s almost impossible to believe that he’s 80 years old. After a lifetime of hard-partying, endless world tours and a hell of a lot of drugs, he’s still dancing like a teenager, still dating incredibly beautiful women and still raising a 6-year-old son.
He might just be the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) of 80-year-olds. And the serious point here is that as Western societies get older, we’re having a lot more debates about ageing.
Compare the flexing, thrusting vitality of Mick Jagger to Mitch McConnell, just one year older, who leads Republicans in the US Senate. Midway through a recent speech, he froze. It’s honestly very difficult to watch.
Does he look capable of being one of the most powerful men in US politics? The reaction of many people, understandably, was that Mitch McConnell looks like a walking advertisement for age limits on politicians.
Dianne Feinstein, a 90-year-old Senator, had to be physically prodded to vote. Again, it’s painful to watch. And of course we have plenty of our own examples in the decrepit House of Lords.
The frontrunners for the next US presidential election are aged 77 and 80. Biden would be 86 at the end of his second term, which looks increasingly implausible. And he gets a hard time for his age
But maybe ageing itself is not the problem. After all, we’re all doing it. As Bill Maher often says, ageism could be the last acceptable prejudice. Perhaps we’ve forgotten that some of our elderly are actually also our most wise.
Ageing is all relative. Jane Fonda looks 50. And Sam Smith… looks 50.
Joan Collins is 90 but she’s feistier than almost anyone I know. It’s not ageing that’s the problem – just the way you do it. If I’m anything like Mick Jagger at 80, I’ll be pretty satisfied.
And I think I’ve got a pretty good chance. We’re both big Arsenal fans. We both keep ourselves at the very peak of physical perfection and we are both utterly irresistible to women.
He is to rock and roll frontmen what I am to broadcasting.
So here’s to many more years of both.
