General Discussion

That 60 is considered young and spry in our party isn't the argument OP thinks it is.

At the end of the day, age is politically survivable. It wasn't the number itself that sank Biden. It's that he looked and sounded like it in public. Say what one will, but Bernie Sanders and Trump are both out there energetically during media appearances and rallies. Trump's a lunatic, but he's out there bouncing around. No one might've noticed Feinstein quite so much, but then when they would wheel her on out to the floor for a vote, that was quite an image to put in voters' minds. We have this reputation we have now because of things like that. And Republicans aren't immune either. There has been plenty of commentary about Grassley and McConnell. But Trump was not tied to them the same way our candidates get tied to our leadership.

As you note, image matters in elections, and age has an effect on that. If you look and sound like you are barely hanging on, voter confidence is not going to be where it should. Certainly not for a national campaign.

2024 was just irresponsible and total political malpractice.