The US Senate, dubbed "the world's most exclusive club," is also one of the most elderly, with more than a third of its 100 members at or well past 65 with no plans to leave anytime soon. While most elderly Americans are retiring, senior senators still wield considerable power, tackling tough issues from war to taxes, some more effectively than others.
"Some of these old people are probably wonderfully wise and some of them, maybe, should have retired a long time ago," said Stephen Hess, a congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution. A recent survey of experts declared six of the oldest senators as among the chamber's 10 "best," while three of the oldest were among the five "worst."
Senior senators walk - some shuffle - the marble halls of power, packing political muscle and legislative know-how as well as a few joint replacements and hearing aids.
The Senate historian says the average age for a senator is 60.3 years, the oldest ever and up six years from 1985. Thirty-seven are at least 65, 19 of whom are in their 70s. Five are in their 80. The word Senate derives from the Latin senex, meaning old man. The Senate, or council of elders, was a powerful body in ancient Rome. At 88, Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia is the oldest US senator. He walks with two canes yet remains one of the most respected voices in Congress.
"If I could live another 100 years, I'd like to continue in the Senate," said Byrd, running for an unprecedented ninth six-year term. First elected in 1958, Byrd became the longest-serving senator this month, passing South Carolina's Strom Thurmond, who retired in 2003 at 100, which made him the oldest senator in the 217-year history of the clubby chamber.
Thurmond, while a powerhouse much of his career, seldom joined Senate debates in his final years and used a wheelchair and relied heavily on aides. He died soon after retiring. "History documents that some stayed too long," said Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner, still vigorous at 79. "I don't want to be remembered that way."
"I wake up every morning delighted to be on this side of the grass," Warner added. Dr Jan Busby-Whitehead, chief of geriatric medicine at the University of North Carolina and a member of the American Geriatrics Society, noted Americans overall were living and working longer.
Those who stay on the job can provide experience and maturity but are also more prone to memory loss and other illnesses. "The criteria for employment shouldn't be age, but ability. Not everyone ages the same way," Busby-Whitehead said.
In the Senate, old age cuts across party lines and perceived effectiveness.
Time magazine had experts rate senators in its April 24 edition and included six senior citizens among its "10 best senators": Democrats Edward Kennedy, 74, of Massachusetts and Carl Levin, 71, of Michigan, along with Republicans Arlen Specter, 76, of Pennsylvania, Richard Lugar, 74, of Indiana, John McCain, 69, of Arizona, and Thad Cochran, 68, of Mississippi.
Among Time's "five worst" were two older Republicans, Conrad Burns, 71, of Montana and Jim Bunning, 74, of Kentucky, and Democrat Daniel Akaka, 81, of Hawaii.
Why do so many stay in the Senate so late in life? James Thurber of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University in Washington said reasons varied with each senator.
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