17 June—Joe Biden, born on 20 November 1942, is 81. Donald Trump, born on 14 June 1946, is 78. That makes Trump three years—okay, three-and-a-half years—younger than Biden. But it makes Biden only three years—okay, three-and-a-half years—older than Trump. Big deal.

Dwight Eisenhower, 34^th POTUS, died—in well-deserved, peaceful, happy retirement, mind you—at 78, about the same age Donald Trump would be returning to the White House should he be elected 47^th POTUS. Some notable venerated men who never even made it that far are John Wayne, who died at 72; Mark Twain and Bing Crosby, who died at 74; and Albert Einstein, who died at 76.

So there’s no question that both of this year’s presumptive and presumptuous presidential candidates are chronological old farts. But in the 21st century isn’t something between 75 and 85 the new 55, the median age at which most American presidents have been inaugurated?

Well, maybe not quite. But age—advanced years, maturity—is supposed to bring with it incalculable positives that are presumably derived from life’s experiences. We learn a lot through experience. Like (in alphabetical order) acceptance, empathy, gratitude, patience, and wisdom. That’s certainly the case with some—perhaps most—old farts who tend to mellow and become wiser with age; but it’s clearly not the case with others of more malignant bent, who need not be identified.

On the other hand, age also brings with it various neurocognitive problems that are conveniently lumped into the portmanteau senility. Not that lots of considerably younger people don’t suffer from and/or make the most of many of those same neurocognitive—and other sociopathic behaviorial—problems. And to ascribe senility to people simply because of their age is both insulting and inaccurate.

So Saturday night, at a right-wing (of course) event in Detroit, Donald Trump pointedly mused, “I think that Joe Biden should take a cognitive test like I did.” But then Trump got the name wrong of the White House physician who had allegedly administered the cognitive test to him—with predictably phenomenal results, which predictably have never been published.

Trump called the doctor “Doc Ronny Johnson” and repeated the name. Doc Ronny’s name is actually Ronny Jackson. President Trump was so fond of Doc Ronny that he wanted to make him Secretary of Veterans Affairs. But that didn’t get too far. Ronny currently is a congressman. After his White House gig Jackson-Johnson retired from the Navy as a rear admiral (lower half—what used to be called a commodore) but was demoted post-retirement to captain.

But that’s a whole nother story. And everybody knows that Donald Trump isn’t senile. Just thoroughly disgusting and malignant . . .