This Seems Odd

As I understand the events in Egypt, in response to mass protests Mubarak appointed Omar Suleiman vice president, the first since 1980. Mubarak is 81 and Suleiman is 75. Both have support from the parts of the Army, the Secret Service, possibly, part of the American political elite, and most likely Saudi Arabia.  But they seem a bit on the aged side of the ledger to rush in and stabilize and clearly politically dysfunctional state. Sort of like replacing Andropov with Chernenko. Also it seems that the police have abdicated their responsibilities and a certain degree of chaos is descending on major cities.