Mo Rocca talks about the president’s age factor and his new book “Roctogenarians”

CBS’ Mo Rocca joined News On 6 at 4 this morning to talk about the presidential debate, his new book “Roctogenarians” and how age should not be viewed in too negative a tone.

See the transcript below.

Tatum: In the first presidential debate between President Biden and the presumptive Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump will say the age of the two candidates is one of the biggest issues for voters in November. Whoever wins the election will be the oldest person to ever take the oath of office. (Mo) You posted on Instagram today about the politician’s age and the wisdom that often comes with age. That’s where we want to start.

Rock: Yes, look, I understand the concerns about the age of the candidates. It’s perfectly understandable. I worry about a gerontocracy, not just in the White House, but in Congress and the Senate. I think these two men should be put through a test of their mental capacity. I think that would be a great live television event. If we did that here, tested them. But we’ve heard so much about the downsides of age, and that overshadows the very real benefits that come with age. And, you know, we live in an ageist society, and ageism is really stupid, because there are people of advanced age with so much talent and so much experience. And to just dismiss that by focusing on the number is really stupid, in my opinion.

Tatum: One thing that older people have, the one thing that Coop and I don’t have, is life experience. And that’s often the best teacher, and you bring that life experience and think about someone in a leadership position. It doesn’t just have to be the president, but actually, life experience is very important in any situation.

Rock: Yes, I think so. And I’ve learned that the older you get, the less you worry about what other people think of you, which I think is a real strength. So you can act more freely. You’re not constantly thinking about what other people are going to think of you, because you know what you have to worry about. And I also think that as an older public servant, you don’t do anything for yourself because you know you’re probably not going to live that long. I mean, I know it’s, I’m putting it very bluntly and almost morbidly, but I think you tend to act. It’s a generality, but with more grace and generosity, because you’re doing it for the future.