In light of Bob McDonnell's lame excuse that his Master's thesis, written at age 34 - when he was married, had children, had served in the military, and was about to enter elective politics - was a mere youthful indiscretion, I've been thinking about what people historically have accomplished by age 34. I plan for this to be a continuing series, which we kicked off earlier today with one of the most important figures in history, Martin Luther. Now, we proceed to another person who accomplished a great deal by the age of 34, this time someone closer to home: Thomas Jefferson.Born in 1743, Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. Quick math: Thomas Jefferson was 33 years old when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Was that just an "academic exercise," as Bob McDonnell says the thesis he wrote at age 34 - one year older, by the way, than Thomas Jefferson when he penned the Declaration of Independence? Heck, did Bob McDonnell even read and understand the Declaration of Independence by the time he was 33 years old? Based on McDonnell's bizarre, extreme, incorrect views regarding our system of government, that doesn't appear to be the case.
By the way, Thomas Jefferson became governor of Virginia when he was 36, just two years older than Bob McDonnell was when he wrote his "academic exercise." Let's make sure that McDonnell doesn't become governor of Virginia...at any age!