The answer: at least one pre-teenage daughter at the time. (Malia/Sasha Obama — 10 & 7; Chelsea Clinton — 12; Amy Cater — 9; Caroline/John Kennedy — 5/weeks) (This doesn't include LBJ but his daughter, Luci Barnes Johnson, was 16 when LBJ assumed the office.)
Now, this is just another way of noting that when Democratic leaders connect with the national electorate, they have universally been youngish parents who (likely not coincidentally) were able to share with the country an acute sense of where we are and inspire a vision of where we should go.
Unfairly or not, today’s 70’s-ish class of Democratic leaders (including Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Al Gore, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, and Elizabeth Warren (67)) are not well positioned for success.
But I also think it is important to remember in our post-election despair that we likely do not need to change our policies too dramatically.
Rather, for the good of the country, let’s hope instead that our next nominee is about 37 years old today. And, if we want to increase our odds of winning, let’s hope that he or she, and the respective spouse, is feeling a little horny tonight.