Editor, The lighthouse:

At the end of July, Mr. Biden stepped aside. It is hard to see the old guard riding off into the sunset.

But it is high time. Our country began with many idealistic and intelligent men in their 30s and 40s. The far exception was Ben Franklin, who was 70 at the time of the Declaration of Independence. Although old for his time, he was still intelligent, resourceful and experienced, but he did not expect to be the leader of the country and did not want to be.

The United States has been operating for at least three decades on the basis of outdated ideas and backward thinking. The Senate is filled with men who are well past Social Security retirement age… and yet they slog away, collect their benefits and welfare, and work for wealthy corporations because they have so much experience.

Maybe we can get some fresh air. Mr. Vance is not yet 40, and the Democrats have the opportunity to run candidates thirty years younger than expected.

This is a good thing. The average age of Americans is 38. They should not be governed by people who are the age of their grandparents and great-grandparents, who were born before the Internet.

Joan Carter
From Land