Youth is a Double-Edged Sword for the President
Youth has always been a double-edged sword for America's presidents. It tends to inject the White House with fresh ideas and energy, but it can also lead to impetuousness and a disregard for the tried and true. So far, Barack Obama has demonstrated both the positive and the negative sides of the equation. As the nation's fifth-youngest chief executive—he turned 48 on August 4—he is both innovative and vigorous, but at the same time he is unseasoned and perhaps too willing to experiment and take big risks.
Over the years, America's youngest presidents have had mixed records. Only one—Theodore Roosevelt, the youngest chief executive in history, who took office in 1901 at the age of 42 years and 10 months—qualifies to be in the great or near-great categories, according to historians. Roosevelt's age was a joking matter even for his friends and advisers because he seemed so preposterously young. Secretary of War Elihu Root told him on his 46th birthday in 1904: "You have made a very good start in life, and your friends have great hopes for you when you grow up." At that point, he had been commander in chief for three years.
Rounding out the youngest five were John F. Kennedy, who was 43 years and 7 months old when he was inaugurated; Bill Clinton at 46 years and 5 months; Ulysses S. Grant at 46 years and 10 months; and Obama at 47 years and 5 months.
Kennedy still has a hold on the popular imagination as a young leader whose potential was cut short by assassination. The reputations of Clinton and Grant were marred by scandal. Obama, in office less than a year, has yet to make a definitive mark.
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Over the years, America's youngest presidents have had mixed records. Only one—Theodore Roosevelt, the youngest chief executive in history, who took office in 1901 at the age of 42 years and 10 months—qualifies to be in the great or near-great categories, according to historians. Roosevelt's age was a joking matter even for his friends and advisers because he seemed so preposterously young. Secretary of War Elihu Root told him on his 46th birthday in 1904: "You have made a very good start in life, and your friends have great hopes for you when you grow up." At that point, he had been commander in chief for three years.
Rounding out the youngest five were John F. Kennedy, who was 43 years and 7 months old when he was inaugurated; Bill Clinton at 46 years and 5 months; Ulysses S. Grant at 46 years and 10 months; and Obama at 47 years and 5 months.
Kennedy still has a hold on the popular imagination as a young leader whose potential was cut short by assassination. The reputations of Clinton and Grant were marred by scandal. Obama, in office less than a year, has yet to make a definitive mark.