Presidential Ages

Lots of muttering this week about Obama's age. So here are some interesting facts:

George W. Bush was 54 when he became president.
Bill Clinton was 46
Jimmy Carter was 52
Nixon was 56 (and he had been vice at 40)
LBJ was 55
John F. Kennedy was 43
FDR was 51
Calvin Coolidge was 51
William Howard Taft was 52
Theodore Roosevelt was 42
Grover Cleveland was 48
Chester Arthur was 49
Ulysses S. Grant was 47
Lincoln was 52

So, don’t buy the bull that Barack Obama’s 47 years of age is some unusually young age. It isn’t. He’s right in the same age bracket as our very best presidents (and some others who weren’t so hot). On the flip side, no president has ever been over 70 at the start of his term. Reagan came the closest, at 69. And in our entire history, only three have been over 65 (Reagan, Harrison and Buchanan).