In announcing her campaign for the presidency, Nikki Haley called for competency tests for any candidates over 75. That would affect only two known candidates – Donald Trump and Joe Biden. So, it’s a clever comment.

But she didn’t make it sound like a clever comment. She made it sound like a serious position. And her supporters will, I guess, take it seriously.

Let’s unpack it a little. First, Joe Biden is the only individual to be elected president over the age of 75. He was 78 when inaugurated. When we think of other “older” presidents, Trump, Eisenhower and of course Reagan, we sometimes don’t realize they were all younger when first sworn in. When Ronald Reagan was first elected, he was only 69, for example, and he was the oldest until that time.

26 American presidents were in their 50s, 8 in their 60s, 9 in their 40s and the last two in their 70s. The average age at first inauguration was 55. Times, they have been changing.

But a competency test? What would it test? Perhaps, it would test for dementia. I know those tests exist, and perhaps they are reliable. But dementia can hit at any age, even though it is more common with advanced age, and it can progress at varying rates. Perhaps it should check for disease in general, with requirements of transparency. Perhaps it should check for stamina. All these things are probably important, to be sure.

But Roosevelt was president with several disabilities – he couldn’t walk because of polio and, at least for some time, he had serious cardiac issues. Lincoln suffered from depression that now and again put him out of commission. Wilson had a stroke that was kept from the public, as his wife apparently acted as a pseudo-president. Eisenhower had both a heart attack and stroke during his presidency. Young John Kennedy had Addison’s Disease. And the list goes on and on.

Mental competency? Trump passed a “test”, right? Did that show him to be competent? And if we were looking for mental competency tests, who would decide the appropriate test? Who would grade it? If a candidate did not pass, then what? Back to the courts for another constitutional crisis?

And what about the Constitution? It says you have to be 35 to be president, but sets no outer limit. How could any requirement for a competency test based on age be constitutional? Or any competency test, for that matter, not based on age?

Of course, you could have voluntary testing and disclosure that could be added to the mix of information presented to the voting pubic. But all you need is a Trump to say “not me”, and you are back where you started.

So, the Haley comments cannot be taken seriously, although they will be and will add to the prejudices against older candidates. For better or for worse.

A couple of other thoughts on, or close to, the subject.

(1) Any test of this sort should also apply to the vice president; that seems obvious. But what of applying it to the next few in line of succession to the presidency? How about to every public elected official? But then why limit it to elected officials? What about applying it to all presidential appointments? Etc. etc.

(2) Because a constitutional amendment might be necessary to have any of this mandatory, should the amendment refer to competency tests (which would always be subject to subjectivity and debate), or to simply an age limit. Such as “No individual shall be elected president if under the age of 35 or over the age of _____”. 70? 75?

There is a lot of talk about older people not being able to perform as well as needed. But, for example, look at federal judges in the United States, most all of whom have lifetime appointments. There have been suggestions to cap the age of Supreme Court justices, to cite one group, so that they would have to retire at a certain age. In many (perhaps most) countries, this is how it works. And we certainly have a history of older Supreme Court justices. But have you ever heard of one being criticized because of his age? I don’t think I have.

So, maybe we just let the people decide when they cast their vote whether they believe the candidates are competent. At least at this point, I am not sure that any change we could make would really help the situation.