prime time

67 Is the Optimal Age to Run for President

Hillary Clinton, optimized.
Hillary Clinton, optimized. Photo: Brian Cahn/Corbis

The fact that timing is everything is a perennial source of anxiety — attempt something too early, or too late, and you basically run the risk of spending the rest of your life thinking, But what if I’d waited a year? Or what if I’d just done that six months earlier?

Sometimes scientific and pseudoscientific research figure out the “best age” to do something and provides us with a comforting roadmap by which to plot our entire lives. For example, science tells us that 34 is the best age have your first baby, 29 is the best age to just generally exist, and, according to Dr. Julie Holland in this Time article, 67 is the best age for a woman to run for president:

As a psychiatrist, I will tell you the most interesting thing about menopause is what happens after. A woman emerging from the transition of perimenopause blossoms. It is a time for redefining and refining what it is she wants to accomplish in her third act. And it happens to be excellent timing for the job Clinton is likely to seek. Biologically speaking, postmenopausal women are ideal candidates for leadership. They are primed to handle stress well, and there is, of course, no more stressful job than the presidency.

Good news for Hillary! Her biological clock is perfectly set for the 2016 election.

67 Is the Best Age to Run for President