Did you sort of get the feeling Thursday night that he let us old guys down?

That now people might look at men who are around his age or almost his age and think of us as doddering, lacking vibrancy, occasionally confused and generally ineffective.

Or did he just confirm their preconceptions about us with that performance?

Actually, it’s true that some of us some of the time do have difficulty finding the right word. We have to pause and wait for it to come to us. And sometimes it doesn’t.

Some of us some of the time can’t think of the right thing to say when we need to say it and some of us some of the time get confused about what happened when and some of us some of the time have found our speaking voices diminished to a unpleasant rasp.

None of us, in fact, are what we used to be, have the same vitality we had 20, 30, 50 years ago. Have the same quick wit and can muster the same sharp retorts as we used to. And yes, many of us do walk more slowly, move more gingerly, occasionally think less clearly.

But none of that means we’re all not generally thinking straight or creatively or not understanding what’s going on or not able to do what we need to do.

To be honest, I’m not sure about him. Maybe, actually, he really isn’t up to preventing what would be among the worst catastrophes in American history. Maybe he should recognize his limitations and step aside.

But as for the rest of us: don’t jump to conclusions. Don’t think we’re falling apart before your eyes. Don’t think less of us and don’t nod your heads sympathetically and roll your eyes sarcastically. We may not be who we were, but who we are isn’t half bad.