(Opinion) The endless and growing debate about Joe Biden’s age – he is 80 now – and whether those years mean he would be unable to serve another term in the White House has the hollow sound to me of voices with no experience of ‘old age’.
I have.
I am coming up on 88, a year or so older than Biden would be when he finished another term as president.
I have lived a very active life and believe intense activity has sharpened rather than dulled my acuity.
I am told that my mind is as sharp as it ever was. Each person ages differently, and projecting your age onto someone else is a fool’s errand.
I sense that Biden’s lately quiet demeanor, newfound care in extemporaneous speech, and unease with the ‘small talk’ he used to love may result from too much pressure from his advisors fearing an ‘Uncle Joe’ gaff.
Remember that being the underdog brings out the best in Biden. That’s how he beat Trump last time.
If age is the issue, should Trump, 77, win another four years in the White House, he would be older than Biden at the end of his first term, becoming the oldest American president.
That might even give him his much-desired shot at joining Mount Rushmore’s outstanding presidents.
“Mentally fuzzy” Biden has been called. I sometimes also pause mid-sentence to collect and give voice to a vibrant idea.
This pause makes that idea less fuzzy and no less relevant.
Opined columnist Frank Bruni, “We can’t know — really know — that Biden’s occasionally prolonged, futile search for the right word or name is firmer evidence of cognitive fade than Trump’s hallucinatory musings are.”
Some stiffness in the limbs making for an occasional falter of movement has hardly shown Biden to have an incapacity to conduct the nation’s business during his 15 international trips to 23 countries, long and tiresome journeys to repair and strengthen allied ties bruised or broken by his younger predecessor.
His numerous visits to the sites of climate disasters and gun violence to share the pain of the affected citizens must also have had a cost.
I couldn’t help but think about this age issue the other night when I watched the men’s final of the US Open Tennis when Novak Djokovic, 36, arguably the greatest player of the modern era, bested Daniil Medvedev almost a decade younger at 27.
Age was collecting its dues from Djokovic, but what matters is he won in 3 straight sets. And sure, his winning was not without pain.
But, like Biden, I wouldn’t bet against him.
Age exerts a price on everyone. But that doesn’t mean tasks can be done as well or better by someone just because they happen to be younger.
Look at what Biden’s team is justly bragging about: new, New Deal measures that have had to be fought for with the republican majority in Congress, line by line, compromise by compromise.
‘The Inflation Reduction Act’ lowered the cost of families’ everyday expenses.
Historically, many people are working and seeing their wages rise; unemployment is at its lowest rate in 50 years; 79% of the adult population has been fully vaccinated against Covid 19.
A near record low unemployment rate for African Americans, Hispanics, and people with disabilities has been achieved.
Infrastructure and climate change spending has meant investments in every state; essential drug prices are being negotiated, and Biden gets credit for rallying the world to support Ukraine.
Those are no small achievements for an ‘old’ man. No doubt Biden’s long experience in dealing with the intricacies of government has played an important part.
Job is certainly not finished; it never can be.
Perhaps it is not age but an inherent modesty that has kept Biden from aggressively selling his new New Deal.
That has been a severe mistake. He would follow Roosevelt’s lead and do more to emphasize how much his administration was helping ordinary people.
History tells us that Roosevelt helped save democracy from authoritarianism in his era. Biden, facing similar challenges, should follow the same playbook.
To accomplish all that he has, Biden has been very busy. One might well ask whether he has had any spare time at all?
According to Forbes, Trump clocked up 285 daytime visits to golf clubs up to November 08, 2020. ‘USA Today’ estimates taxpayers footed the bill for Trump’s golfing tours at $141 million.
Biden prefers to spend his little downtime with his family and friends at his home in Pennsylvania.
Biden’s White House has admittedly been quieter, much more thoughtful, and organized than Trump’s.
He has quietly accomplished far more than his predecessor. Building things up instead of tearing them down makes much less noise.
Tempting as it is to consider how vice presidents might figure into the age equation, I’m reminded of a trans-Atlantic flight, sharing a row with ex-VP Spiro T.
Agnew, who told me with great authority, “No one ever votes for vice-Presidents or gives a damn about them.” He didn’t notice the Spiro Agnew’ Micky Mouse’ watch my wife was wearing when she greeted us in London.
So, should Biden be sidelined like an aging athlete, unable to go for the grand slams? Happily, presiding over America takes more brain than brawn.
Until someone comes along with the youthful energy, experience, and smarts to better what Biden has accomplished until now, we would be wise to follow the old axiom about the danger of changing horses in mid-stream.
But what has this fuzziness produced over the past less than three years?