The Aging Presidents

The stresses of running the country can take a toll on the commander-in-chief, and so it's not surprising to see gray hairs or deepening wrinkles creeping in during and after one's presidency. Click through these photos to see how recent presidents have aged, including President Obama, who turns 48 on Aug. 4 -- and whose hair is already beginning to show some gray.

Barack Obama Sr. poses for a photograph his son in the early 1970s.

Barack Obama

In this photo, President Obama shares a moment with his daughter Malia during his 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate.

A few years later, while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in St Paul, Minn., on June 3, 2008, there are still few signs of gray in the future president's hair.

About six months after taking office, it's evident that the president's hair is beginning to gray -- perhaps a sign of his getting older (he turns 48 on Aug. 4) or the stresses of his position. Here, he gestures during a town hall meeting on health care reform on July 29, 2009, in Raleigh, N.C.

George W. Bush

Long before he was president, the younger Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard. Here he poses in uniform with his father, future president George H.W. Bush, who also looks much younger, in 1968.

Thirty years later, Bush waves to the crowd after his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia on Aug. 3, 2000. His hair is a little grayer, but his face is still fairly unlined.

Eight years in office certainly made a difference in the former president's appearance. Here he is congratulating his successor on Inauguration Day in Washington, Jan. 20, 2009.

Bill Clinton

The future president smiles in this 1968 photo, when he was a Georgetown University student.

The 43rd president is seen on Oct. 7, 1993, at the age of 47. He was almost nine months into his first term.

In 2008, eight years after he finished his two presidential terms, Clinton looks much older as he speaks during the Democratic national convention in Denver on Aug. 27, 2008.

George H.W. Bush

The first President Bush poses for a photo at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., circa 1940.

The former president prepares to address the nation on Operation Desert Storm, Jan. 16, 1991. He was 66 years old and in the middle of his only term at the time this photo was taken.

At the age of 84, the former president and his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush, wave to friends during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Sept. 2, 2008. He served one term as president, while his son served two.

Ronald Reagan

Before his political life, the former president had a career in movies. Here, a young Reagan poses with actress Doris Day in a scene from the 1958 film "The Winning Team."

Reagan poses as president, Nov. 18, 1986. He was 69 years old when he was became president in 1981, making him the oldest man elected to the office. In this photo, he is 75.

The former president is seen at 86 on Nov. 11, 1997. He died seven years later at the age of 93.

Jimmy Carter

This 1932 photo shows future president Jimmy Carter at age 7 in Plains, Ga.

Carter, the 39th U.S. president, is seen while in office in this July 30, 1980 photo. He was 56 at the time.

The former president, seen here at Emory University in Atlanta on Feb. 22, 2007, will turn 85 years old in 2009. Along with the accolades for his foreign affairs and human rights work, he also has the title of the second-oldest living former president. The first is George H.W. Bush, who is older than him by three months and 19 days.