Marvin--
Barry may not want to wait to be honored by the Kennedy Center (DISCLAIMER: In the past, as I remember, Barry's said he doesn't do what he does for the awards involved), & his fans may not want to wait much longer for it to happen, but I'm afraid we're just gonna have to be patient until it happens (& hope that they decide to allow posthumous honorees at some point, if necessary) because there's really nothing we can do about it, other than keep submitting his name as long as the public is allowed to participate in the process in that way--& then keep hoping his name will eventually be among a future year's honorees.
If Barry were to be fortunate enough to be named as an honoree while our current President is still in office--be it during the remainder of this term, during a second term (I cringe at that thought), or before he's served either a full 4 (or 8) years as POTUS--however, I assume Barry would be the gentleman we know he is, participate in the events involved, & keep politics out of it.
Barbra Streisand accepted her Honors during George W. Bush's presidency; she was a vocal critic of his presidency, but she managed to put that aside to participate in the events. She was treated very well by him during the event, despite their political differences, even getting a kiss from President Bush 43 at some point during the proceedings. And of the past honorees, I doubt Ms. Streisand is the only 1 who's put politics/their personal dislike for the then-POTUS aside long enough to receive the Kennedy Center Honors.
As far as this year's honorees are concerned, I've already seen that Norman Lear has said he won't participate in the pre-gala White House reception the President & First Lady give for the honorees, though I think he's still planning to accept the Honor. I've also seen it said that Gloria Estefan isn't a huge fan of our current POTUS, but she's apparently very honored by her selection (pun not intended) & does plan to participate in the events/accept her Honor. I believe I also read there's a 3rd honoree this year who's also not the biggest fan of the guy currently sitting (metaphorically, not literally as I type) in the Oval Office but they also feel they can put their political differences aside long enough to accept their Honor. Unfortunately their name escapes me at the moment; but it's either Carmen de Lavallade, Lionel Richie, or LL Cool J (obviously, because those 3 hadn't been mentioned yet). I think it's either Lionel (whose last name doesn't have a T in it, by the way) or LL Cool J.
Even though you feel strongly an honoree's age should be taken into consideration when they're being selected, the Kennedy Center Honors committee apparently doesn't agree--nor do they agree that posthumous awards are possible. I honestly have to say I agree that maybe seniority at least shouldn't weigh as heavily as other factors in the honorees' selection. Granted the award is for lifetime contributions to American culture, but at least some of the younger honorees have been able to make indelible marks on American culture/American pop culture very quickly/in less than a lifetime--& they deserve to be honored for their contributions just as much as those with more "seniority" do. So I'm not necessarily in favor of presentation just to the older generations.
I also have to say I'd be in favor of posthumous honors, to be accepted by someone in the family or another designated recipient. After all, other honors presented in Washington (like by the government) are presented posthumously (I think there were at least 2 posthumous Medal of Freedom recipients at President Obama's last presentation ceremony for this honor before he left office). And the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are also presented posthumously to some people. Those honorees have to wait 5 years before they can be honored & the family has to be present at their induction ceremony, among other criteria. Whitney Houston was selected for the Walk of Fame before her death, but she never scheduled her induction ceremony within the allotted timeframe after she was chosen (celebs used to have 5 years to collect this honor once they're named as honorees; now it's down to 3 years). Now, if Whitney gets a star (& she's eligible again, I think, having died in February, 2012), it has to be awarded with her family's permission/participation.
Marvin, Michael Jackson never received a Kennedy Center Honor before he died either (& he was about 20 or so years younger, at the time, than Barry, Bette, Johnny Mathis, or any other worthy, major pop music figure you can name). You certainly can't say--at least not based on his contributions to the entertainment industry--that he wasn't worthy. And if he'd lived, he might have received the award by now. Who knows? But now the only way he can be so honored is if the selection committee changes the eligibility criteria so that posthumous honors can be given.
And the Eagles' Glenn Frey--as far as I know--would have the honor if the Eagles hadn't postponed their participation/selection for a year because of Glenn's illness. Since Glenn died between the 2 ceremonies, even though he'd have been honored if it hadn't been postponed, I don't think he/his family received the Kennedy Center Honor meant for him when the band was originally scheduled to be honored. I think it ended up that just the surviving band members were honored.