This whole set of stories gets my blood boiling. Her time would not have won something like 6 of the past 9 years in the 500, and her statistics put her in the mid-range of high-performance female college swimmers and not some insane unique powerhouse.
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People complain about Feinstein, but she gets more cred than most congresspeople of either party for taking a principled stand against torture that even went against her own party.
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But this story isn’t really about calling her principles or even her record into question so much as it is about questioning her cognitive state as an 88-year-old person with a failing memory. The best defense people seem to have on that front is “yeah but there are a lot of other geriatric people in the legislature who are clearly in cognitive decline too.” Which is absolutely true but really freaking scary.
If Feinstein was living in a state where there was a good chance of a Republican replacing her I’d understand her reluctance to retire. But she’s in a Democratic state with a Democratic governor, and there’s hardly any shame in hanging up the spurs when you’re pushing 90. Not to mention stinking rich—I’ve seen her house and it’s a damn fancy one.
California is the most populous state and thus has more qualified candidates for the senate than anywhere else in the Union. She’s had the job for over three decades. At a certain point, refusing to step aside to let a new generation of leaders advocate for Californians feels less like dedication than outright stubbornness.
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Sure. But they’ve been levying that “senile” complaint against her for a couple of decades. Is it real this time or another attack?
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This time it’s not the Republicans saying it, it’s her fellow Democrats (albeit confidentially). It is highly unusual for elected officials and congressional staffers to share such information with the press about a powerful member of their own party. That tells me these claims are credible, unlike (for example) the oft-repeated claims on the right that Biden is senile.
Besides, how many 88-year-olds do you know who are still in prime cognitive condition? She’d be a miracle of nature if she wasn’t getting slower and more forgetful at her age.
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I get your point. But I do know people who are sharp well into their 90s.
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Those people are the exception, though. Statistically speaking most people in their 90s aren’t just slower than they used to be, they’re dead.
I have a soft spot for Dianne Feinstein even though I’ve had some major policy disagreements with her for years. She’s had a long and storied career, and my children even attended an elementary school named after her. But I can’t think of a single good reason she should insist on staying in that job instead of letting someone new represent California in the U.S. Senate for a while.
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Well, here in Canada, we had a 93 year old mayor who retired to take on a few roles in academia. She still seems to be a political shark.
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Good for Ms. McCallion, but she’s still an exception to the rule rather than the norm. Besides, California has an extremely complex economy and a population of almost 40 Million people so keeping up with its citizens’ needs would be a taxing job for the sharpest of minds.
Given that Feinstein’s own Democratic colleagues have apparently lost faith in her ability to continue doing her job effectively I can’t think of any compelling reason for her to keep putting off retirement. If she wants to continue serving the people of California there are other ways to do so outside of the Senate.
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Reading the full article in the SF Chronicle was a real downer. One point it included was that next year after Senator Leahy retires she’ll be the Senate’s President Pro Tempore (if Democrats hold the senate and the tradition of going with the most senior person in the majority party is maintained, anyway) which would put her third in line for the Presidency.
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She still runs the airport at 101!
That’s no easy job.
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I had thought that being born outside the country would be an immediate disqualifier from running, but i guess McCain and Cruz already tested that.
George W Bush was also a veteran. Hardly a stellar record, but a veteran nonetheless. I guess the author meant “combat veteran”
I’ve met her a few times going back to 2001. She has my vote.
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Yeah, born overseas because a parent is in the military is A-OK (as it should be).
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