Power and Ageing: Blair, Bush, Clinton, Obama and Thatcher May 10, 2014
Author: Beach Combing | in : Contemporary , trackback
It is well known that power corrupts but what does power do for the ageing process? To judge by President Obama’s rapidly whiting hair (and kudos for not getting out the dye too often) then there is nothing more likely to make you old before your time than to be in charge of a major country for a number of years. There are some rare politicians who step into the top job and manage to relax: British prime minister Jim Callaghan had a reputation for refusing to let the office get on top of him; Ronald Reagan in the US was similarly styled as being someone who was able to sleep from time to time. But most individuals who achieve office: (i) have the kind of personality that will not allow them to relax and (ii) have already been through several grueling years of campaigning etc to get there.
Make no mistake there is no science in what follows. The ideal thing would be to take blood pressure, girth measurement and heart and wrinkle rate before and after, but because the internet does not oblige with this kind of information (at least I’ve not been able to find it), I’ve gone looking for some long-serving western leaders and offer a simple photograph comparison. I’ve settled on two two-term American Presidents and two decade-long British PMs, namely Clinton and Bush jr and Thatcher and Blair, just to see if there really is abnormal ageing after ten (or almost ten years) in the top job. Obama just gets the picture at the top of the page, as his story is not yet finished.
Let’s start with Margaret Thatcher. The first image shows MT in Downing Street after her historic victory in 1979 (aged 54), about to quote an absurdly inappropriate prayer of St Francis (what was she thinking): the second image shows her having left Downing Street for the last time as Prime Minister after being assassinated by her own party in 1990 (65). She is a young 54 in the first photograph, an old 65 in the second.
Next comes, in chronological order, Bill Clinton who was inaugurated as President in 1993 (46): the second image comes from his last year in 2001 (54). Perhaps the recent habit of choosing younger leaders makes ageing more evident?
Next Tony Blair… An iconic image from 1997, with Cherie Blair and her husband in front of Ten Downing Street after having won a famous election victory (43). A commentator that night noted that Cherie couldn’t keep her hands off her husband: power the greatest aphrodisiac. Then the second picture from 2007 when he left Downing Street as Prime Minister (53): perhaps the most dramatic ageing of anyone here? Dapper, handsome but clearly knackered. You can’t go home again, Tony.
Then, lastly, there is George Bush Jn. In 2001 (47) he was inaugurated as president and the second image here is from 2008 (55) towards the end of his presidency. His skin seems to have collapsed in a relatively brief space of time.
The art historian Kenneth Clark once wrote that getting old is not like walking down a hill. It is like descending stairs. There are sudden shifts rather than gradual changes: this is certainly my experience of ageing and on the basis of these pictures running a state is like being pushed from the top of said flight of stairs. All this tends to confirm that stress really is the greatest ager. Other thoughts: drbeachcombing AT yahoo DOT com It would be interesting to do a similar exercise with war figures. Imagine running, say, Germany for six years in a global conflict… 1939 vs 1945 (out of the bunker for the last time). Note the shoulder bend.
10 May 2014: CS writes in ‘What I want to bring up is the possibility of ageing badly in office is a way of establishing confidence with their constituency. Coming in, everyone’s youthful and brimming with idealism. In time, politicians establish themselves, ditching that facade, assuming the countenance of a grizzled veteran. Hope and change coming into office, leaving office having maintained the status quo. We are repeating history, even if it’s superficially.’ Southern Man writes, meanwhile: ‘You mention Callaghan, the really interesting ‘lazy’ PM was Baldwin who actually projected laziness as part of his persona.’ Thanks CS and thanks SM!
16 May 2014: Judith from Zenobia writes: Are you sure, Beachcomber [sic], that it’s the stress of Power that ages these politicians? How about what happens to everyone from +50 to +60? I’m not sure I’d like to see my decade-later photo portraits juxtaposed. Just saying.’ I’ve thought about this for a few days and still think that there is something here. If you look at the age in the second photograph all these four are too old? Thanks Judith! .
