Top 5 Political Old-Timers

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Last week, ABC News brought you the top 5 political whippersnappers - the U.S.'s youngest political players. This week, read about the top five political old-timers - the current public officials who have had the longest careers in politics.

The names of some of these older guys might surprise you.

quicklist: 1title: Mayor Hilmar Moore: Total tenure time: 63 yearsurl: 15751326text:

Hilmar Guenther Moore turns 92 in July, a couple of months after finishing the 31st term of his 63-year tenure as mayor of the small town of Richmond, Texas.

Moore began serving as mayor at age 29 in 1949 when a group of friends asked him at lunch if he would be interested in serving out the unfinished term of the previous mayor.

From 1950 through today, Moore has been consistently re-elected to the position, making him one of the longest-serving current mayors in the U.S.

In 2008, a life-size statue of Moore was erected near the Richmond City Hall.Moore was honored, he told the Houston Chronicle in 2008, but said he thought "statues are supposed to be for dead people."

He said he planned to continue running for re-election and serving in pubilc office "so long as I know who I am and where I am."

quicklist: 2title: Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.: Total tenure time: 56 yearsurl: 15751326text:

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., has enough mileage on him to say what he really thinks about the way things are run in Washington, particularly in regards to the 2010 Republican freshman class.

"Before they even know where the men's or women's restroom is, they're making speeches telling how important they are and how this has got to be done," Dingell told Roll Call in December. "They think, 'I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread. I'm going to save this country.' But they're the only sons of bitches that think that."

Dingell was sworn in for his 29th full term in the House last January and is the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives. As such, Dingell is also the dean of the House of Representatives – a position that entails swearing in new House speakers – and he also takes it upon himself to admonish his fellow congressmen when they get out of line.

"These tea baggers come in and ... don't know the rules. They don't know the traditions," the dean told Roll Call. "It's just like taking a grade school class, bringing 'em down here and saying, 'Here, run the country."

quicklist: 3title: Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii: Total tenure time: 52 yearsurl: 15751326text:

When Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, became the longest-serving current member of the Senate, he had never taken a vacation in his entire life.

Inouye was first elected to public office in Hawaii before it even became a state and has been in politics ever since, currently serving his ninth term as U.S. senator from Hawaii.

At 87 years old, Inouye is also the second-oldest member of the Senate, just after Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who is 88.

quicklist: 4title: Vice President Joe Biden: Total tenure time: 36 yearsurl: 15751326text:

While he hasn't set any records, Vice President Joe Biden is also quite the old-timer of the national political scene.

quicklist: 5title: Gov. Rick Perry: Total tenure time: 11 yearsurl: 15751326text:

Eleven years might not seem like a long time, but it makes Rick Perry the longest-serving sitting U.S. governor. Having dropped out of the Republican presidential race, Perry recently assured a crowd near Austin, Texas, that he was "not slipping off into the sunset. ... We've got plenty of work to do right here in the state of Texas."

Perry, of all people, would know, because he is the longest-serving governor in Texas history and the longest continually serving current governor in the U.S., despite the functional hiatus he took for his presidential campaign.

"I don't know what y'all have been doing for the last six months, but I think you kind of know what I've been up to," Perry told the Austin crowd.