A common argument used by many Democratic voters in justifying their opposition to Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign for president is that he is old. As the story goes, they argue that they don’t want to vote for a person who is statistically more likely to die in office than the other candidates in the race. This view, however, completely disregards Sanders’ actual health, the constitutional line of succession, and examples of prior presidents who performed well despite serious health issues.

First and foremost, Bernie Sanders is remarkably healthy. Ignoring the doctor’s notes that the Sanders campaign recently unveiled (which, as we’ve seen from Trump, can be easily fabricated), we find that Sanders demonstrates an incredible amount of energy and vigor when giving public speeches and rallying supporters at large campaign events. There are numerous clips of him running and playing sports, and there is no evidence that he is experiencing any sort of mental health decline. Indeed, Sanders is both physically and cognitively ready to serve as our Commander-in-Chief.

Bernie Sanders landing five shots in a row (2019).

What about Bernie’s heart attack? Yes, it is true that Sanders experienced a heart attack on the campaign trail in 2019, but the resulting minimally-invasive procedure he underwent was incredibly common and in no way a sign of declining health; according to the American Heart Association, nearly half a million people receive stents to open their arteries each year, and those who undergo these procedures are still able to engage in physical activity and live long, productive lives post-surgery.

Moreover, it is incredibly common for presidents to experience health problems, both before and during their terms in the Oval Office. Most notoriously, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the president responsible for guiding us out of the Great Depression, privately suffered from polio, a debilitating ailment that kept him wheelchair-bound. Despite his health issues, he was so effective and popular as president that he was elected to four terms, causing Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment limiting presidents to only two terms in office.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressing the nation after the events of Pearl Harbor (1941).

Of course, Franklin Roosevelt wasn’t the only president who experienced health issues. While in office, for example, President Eisenhower suffered from multiple heart attacks and was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. John F. Kennedy was diagnosed with Addison’s Disease in 1947, years before entering the Oval Office, and was able to lead the nation despite the constant pain associated with the ailment. President Lyndon Johnson also suffered from multiple heart attacks pre- and post-presidency

Therefore, when we compare Bernie Sanders’ health to that of prior presidents, we can conclude the following:

Other presidents have experienced significantly worse health problems prior to and during their presidencies. Even if Sanders’ heart attack was as debilitating as polio or Addison’s Disease, there is no proof that such ailments would subdue him while in office. In fact, it seems more likely than not, given his substantial energy, drive, and passion, that such ailments would not deter Sanders from effectively leading the country at all. Worst case scenario, we have a line of succession.

The presidential line of succession provides our country with a back-up plan in case the president is removed from office, resigns, or dies while carrying out their term. If the president dies in office, for example, the vice president takes over, and if both die in office, then the Speaker of the House becomes the president, and so on.

One of the responsibilities of any president, regardless of age, health, or disability, is to select a vice president who is willing, able, and ready to become president if the commander-in-chief dies in office. I have no doubt in my mind that Sanders will select a qualified progressive as his running mate if he receives the Democratic nomination, and if Sanders resigns or dies while in office, I am 100 percent confident that his successor would successfully continue his legacy of ethical and progressive leadership.

How about the other candidates? While we currently don’t know who each of the candidates would actually select as their running mates, we do know that Joe Biden, who is almost as old as Sanders, would consider selecting a Republican to serve as his vice president. Whereas Sanders would select a progressive Democrat to continue pushing our country forward, there is a chance that Biden would appoint a conservative Republican, a fact that should be immediately disqualifying to democratic primary voters. Ironically, many of the same individuals who critique Sanders for being too old are far less likely to point out Biden’s age, let alone criticize him for proposing a running mate who would be one heart attack away from changing the balance of power in Washington.

Sanders speaking at the first democratic presidential primary debate of 2020.

Ultimately, Bernie Sanders is the most progressive candidate in the race, and the ones who criticize Sanders for his age don’t really have a suitable alternative candidate who is younger. Of course, we should not discount any candidate for their age, because that is outright ageism, but even if we wanted to find a candidate who was akin to Sanders in almost every way, except for age, we find that none exist. Biden is certainly not a progressive, Elizabeth Warren has a history of lying and flip-flopping and completely decimated her credibility by accusing Sanders of sexism, Pete Buttigieg has a terrible track record of managing the police force of South Bend, Indiana and became more conservative on the campaign trail as he began receiving attention and support from wealthy donors, Amy Klobuchar is a corporatist Democrat who abuses her workers, Andrew Yang has a platform that, while introducing some novel ideas, is ultimately less progressive than many of us realize, Michael Bloomberg is a Republican who is able to cosplay as a Democratic presidential candidate because he has money, and Tom Steyer is inadequate on most issues and, similar to Bloomberg, is only relevant because he is a billionaire. Indeed, to argue that we ought not to vote for Bernie because of his age implies that we should settle for a significantly worse candidate, just because they are younger.

The real question that we should be asking is not whether or not we should hold Sanders’ age against him but, rather, why there are no true progressive alternatives who are younger than the Vermont Independent running for president. The reason for this is because Congress hasn’t really allowed true progressives to flourish within the Democratic Party. Joe Biden entered public life as the post-New Deal era began to ebb, ushering in an era of Democratic corporatism, neo-liberalism, and conservatism that, in partnership with Republicans, aided in the implementation of atrocious “reforms” that pushed millions of Americans into poverty, destroyed countless American jobs, devastated the environment, and targeted minority communities. There was simply no room in the Democratic Party for true progressives to thrive, further evidenced by the fact that Sanders, much to the dismay of establishment members of the party, “isn’t even a real Democrat”. Indeed, it was only recently when we were able to elect many true progressives to Congress that could one day ascend to the presidency, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but the only progressive champion actually running for the Democratic nomination is Sanders.

As the democratic primaries approach, we need to challenge the status-quo, fight corporatism, reform the Party, and implement systemic reforms, and the only way we can actually achieve these momentous objectives is to elect an honest, authentic progressive who has a demonstrated track record of fighting for the American people. The only candidate who meets this high bar is Bernie Sanders, and we should strongly support him in the primaries, regardless of his age.