Exactly when can the baby boomers stop carrying this country on their shoulders? First we had to drag along Generation X which is described as “disaffected and directionless,” although I’m pretty sure that my parents would not have used such nice words for a kid that behaved in such a manner.

Next, we have the so-called millennials who are moving back home with their parents in record numbers because they’ve discovered their college degrees in video game competition don’t open up a whole lot of job opportunities.

Yet, we see national publications highlighting all the young hotshots in the country, the 100 best and brightest Gen X and millennials.

So how is it that we are in the midst of a presidential campaign and not one rising star from either of those generations is represented? All right, granted, you have to be 35 years old to qualify. But nowhere does it say that you have to be on Social Security!

It’s rather ironic that 240 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence we are about to choose a president who is nearly old enough to have actually been present at that historic moment.

Donald Trump is 70 and Hillary Clinton is 68. At their ages, I’m pretty sure that the main concern for the organizers of the Republican and Democratic conventions was not security: it was the possibility of scheduling in nap times for the candidates.

And what about Bernie Sanders at 74 who played a major role in shaping the party platform? I have to admit that I had never heard of Senator Sanders prior to the primary campaign. When I first saw him on a televised debate with that crazy white hair, I assumed he was the younger brother of Colonel Sanders, founder of KFC.

But, whereas the Colonel made millions selling chicken breasts and drumsticks, I thought maybe lesser-known sibling Bernie went broke with his chain of restaurants called Buffalo Wild Chicken Necks. So he switched to politics.

I am younger than all three of these people, but I can guarantee you that I have no aspirations to be president of the United States. Heck, I don’t even feel qualified any longer to be president of the neighborhood recycling committee.

Truth be known, I have to scope out my neighbors on Friday mornings to see how many have put out the blue bins since I can’t seem to remember if it’s my week on the recycle schedule. So as president I can’t imagine trying to keep Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan straight in my head.

I would think that any president around 70 years old is going to struggle negotiating with that he-man Russian president Vladimir Putin. How on earth is Hillary or Donald going to win the psychological battle when a bare-chested Putin, brandishing a Kalashnikov assault rifle, rides into the conference room on his horse which is also shirtless?

I can just see President Clinton so stunned that her porcelain veneers pop right off and land in her lap. Or President Trump’s wig springing up to the ceiling despite his having applied an extra dose of Gorilla Glue prior to the meeting.

An older president could have some trouble filling the commander-in-chief role. I know that when my back goes out, like it did recently when I was balancing on one foot on a ladder and reaching out to trim that last branch just out of reach, I’d have a difficult time doing my best General George S. Patton impersonation while sitting on my baby blue heating pad during strategy sessions with leaders of the armed forces.

On the other hand, over the last couple of years I have noticed that I’m starting to speak my mind more with less caution than when I was younger. So I could see myself telling North Korea’s leader that he needs to spend less time strolling around inspecting tanks while dressed in a military costume that looks like it was purchased at Toys “R” Us, and more time working out in the gym — and, for crying out loud, do something with that hair!

Finally, as often as the president has to appear on television, the high-definition technology would certainly do me no favors. In fact, based on what I see looking back at me in the mirror nowadays, my televised State of the Union speech would have to be preceded by a “Viewer Discretion Advised” warning.

Mike Murphy retired after a 35-year teaching and coaching career. He has a master’s degree in English from the University of Nebraska and is an Associated Press award-winning columnist.

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