When former U.S. Sen. Wallace F. Bennett, R-Utah, decided to retire in 1974, he said his advancing age was a key reason. He was 76. His son, current Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, plans to run for re-election next year at age 77 — when he will be a year older than his father was at retirement.
Bob Bennett would become the oldest Utahn ever to win a Senate race if he is re-elected, and serving a full term would take him to age 83.
But Sen. Orrin Hatch hopes to break that record shortly afterward in 2012, when he is already planning to seek re-election then at age 78 (and possibly serve to age 84).
"I don't think it (age) will be a factor," Bennett says. "As I move around the state, it never comes up. Now, those people who are against me for other reasons will probably add it to their pile of reasons to vote against Bennett. But as a reason by itself, I'm not finding anybody who's coming at me with it."
But historically, the question of age, or geezerhood, has ended the careers of other younger senators from Utah.
And related to that, only two of Utah's 13 former senators ever chose to retire voluntarily — Wallace Bennett and Jake Garn. All the others eventually were forced out by voters, often despite long careers and holding powerful positions at the end. Arguments about the importance of seniority did not save them.
For example, former Sen. Reed Smoot was defeated at age 72 (in 1932) despite being chairman of the powerful Finance Committee and being "dean" of the Senate (its longest-serving member) after 30 years of service. Also, Smoot was defeated even though he was an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
At age 79, former Sen. William H. King, D-Utah, was defeated (in 1940) after serving four terms — and he was the Senate President Pro Tempore (senior member of the majority party) at the end. He was defeated by an in-party challenge by Abe Murdoch, D-Utah, who was then 54.
Former Sen. Elbert D. Thomas, D-Utah was defeated in 1950 after three terms by Wallace Bennett, who, in part, attacked Thomas' age — which was then "only" 67.
Bob Bennett remembers when his father was running for re-election himself at age 70, he was asked why he had attacked a younger Thomas earlier for being too old. Bob Bennett remembers that his father would respond, "When I was a child, I spoke as a child."
So why is Bob Bennett seeking re-election now when his father chose to retire at a younger age?
"My father had stomach ulcers beginning back in his 40s, and by the time he retired he had two-thirds of his stomach removed," Bob Bennett said. "He was concerned because of his stomach problems and my mother. She fell and broke her hip in her 40s," but both would live into their 90s.
Bennett added, "My health is better than either my father's or my mother's at this age, and my wife is healthier than I am. And she kind of enjoys the Washington life. So when I said to her, 'How do you feel about another term,' she was for it."
Bennett said he exercises by always taking the stairs at work and in his four-story townhome, meaning he takes about 30 flights of stairs a day.
"The Senate physician said to me, 'That's all the exercise you need,' " Bennett said. "I take a little perverse pleasure in having a staffer who is half my age and say, 'Well, let's walk up.' By the time we reach the fourth floor, I'm still talking and my staffer is hardly able to breathe."
Being old also is not new in the Senate. Former Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., served there until age 100. The oldest current senator is Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who is 91. Ten of the 100 current senators are older than Bennett (who is just six months older than Hatch). The current median age in the Senate is 62.
"I have seen senators in their 80s who are very sharp," Bennett said, adding he admired how former Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, ran major committees well into their 80s. "Others slow down in the 50s and 60s, for whatever reason."
Hatch and Bennett also say that each other's health appears great. "I don't think Orrin gives any thought to my age, and frankly I don't give any thought to his," Bennett said.
Hatch added, "Thanks to the blessings of the Almighty and the support of my family and all Utahns, my health and energy are great … . I believe Sen. Bennett is healthy and energetic as well."
Both Bennett and Hatch point to another example of someone old who was sharp (and shows that perhaps they could be, too, as senators in their 80s): former LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led that church until his death at age 96.
Hatch said, "President Hinckley worked harder than most 30-year-olds when he was in his 80s and 90s. Sen. Bennett and I work as hard every day for Utahns as the first day we set foot in the U.S. Senate, and experience goes a long way in Washington, especially in the Senate."
Bennett agrees on that point, and says it is a reason why Utahns should see an advantage to re-electing someone with experience, even if they are old.
"It's the connections you make. It's the trust that you build with your colleagues. It's the people who may well remember when Sen. Bennett helped me with this, and now I'm willing to help him out with that," he said. "It becomes a major plus."
But Utah voters historically have not always seen it that way. Utah's senators have a history of overstaying their welcome with 11 of 13 previous senators either being defeated eventually, or withdrawing when it became apparent they could not win election.
The median age at defeat for those senators is age 62. Meanwhile, the median age at the first election of Utah senators has been 48
Hatch and Bennett both insist they have not overstayed their welcome, and are not too old.
Hatch said, "If I feel as good then as I do now, I plan to seek re-election in 2012 … . It takes leaders with energy, experience and courage to stand up and fight in these hard times. I've seen this stuff (Obama's proposals to create what Hatch says is a "welfare society"), and I know how to fight it."
Bennett said, "I don't find any diminution in my ability to go through these things (Senate work) mentally. I occasionally forget a name, but I've done that for years." And as long as health is good, he said that in the Senate, "the longer you serve, the more effective you can be."
E-MAIL: lee@desnews.com