Unlike the rest of our gerontocracy, Mitt Romney retires with dignity

Despite suffering two catatonic episodes in public, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is holding on to control of the Republicans' upper chamber with an iron grip. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) just announced she would run for a 20th term in Congress. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump continue to dominate as their parties' presumptive presidential nominees. At the end of either of their second terms, the current president and the former president would be 86 and 82, respectively.

Given the pattern, it is notable when a patrician atop the gerontocracy chooses to retire with dignity and long before the inevitable senility of old age sets in. The 76-year-old Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) announced he would not seek a second term in the Senate come 2024.