Two months ago, I wrote a column supporting a mandatory retirement age for federal offices. That means the president, the cabinet, the judges, and all the way down the line.
When published, my email address is listed below my column, my inbox lit up with mail from lots of people, both in support of and against the concept of a mandatory retirement age for federal officials.
I still fully support the idea, and I would like to add an additional requirement to federal office holders. In addition to age, I think it would be beneficial if federal officials were also required to pass the Presidential Fitness Test, as a demonstration of “walking the walk,” or “talking the talk.”
The president has signed an order to reinstate the fitness test for younger Americans who attend public schools. The concept was born during the Eisenhower administration, formalized for all public schools in the mid-1960s, and sunset in 2013 during the Obama administration.
I like the order. Fitness and physical capabilities are goals that support excellent health.
When my children were little, I subscribed to the fitness mantra of being able to pick up your child and run a mile. Modeling good fitness for my children would perhaps inspire them to do the same.
Details on the new presidential order are currently slim; however, the criteria of the last test for public school-aged children, aged 10-17, included a one-mile run, modified sit-ups, a 30-foot shuttle run, the sit-and-reach flexibility test, and a choice between push-ups and pull-ups, according to The New York Times.
There is nothing wrong with asking our leaders to do the same and publish their results, considering former Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) missed six months of votes while residing in a senior living facility and battling dementia and age-related health issues. In 2023, Sen. Dianne Feinstein missed nearly half U.S. Senate votes before passing away at the age of 90. And, who can forget 82-year-old President Joe Biden, moving slowly, with a significant gait. If there were a Presidential Fitness test, could any of this group have passed it? I doubt it, which is my point – you must be cognitively and physically fit for such important, relevant jobs.
After all, any of these people who attended public schools before 2013 would have had to meet the requirements at some point.
The White House press release stated the rationale for reintroducing the test as” Rates of obesity, chronic disease, inactivity and poor nutrition are at crisis levels, particularly among our children,” the order reads. “These trends weaken our economy, military readiness, academic performance, and national morale.”
Even more reason to ask our leaders to join our youngest in lowering rates of obesity, chronic disease, inactivity, etc. Serve as fit examples.
I say one for all and all for one.
