The median age for Americans is almost 39, according to the U.S. Census.
Which might be surprising — we feel like a much older nation, and for good reason. Look at our leaders. President Joe Biden is 80. Majority leader Chuck Schumer is 72, and minority leader Mitch McConnell is 81. The oldest senator, Dianne Feinstein, is 90.
To ask if that is “too old” is to ask the wrong question. Of course, people can be busy and productive to a very old age — we just visited Edith Renfrow Smith, making jelly at 109.
But things happen. Feinstein has struggled to do her job. McConnell froze in the middle of a news conference Wednesday, standing silent and stricken until he was led away. He returned later and declared himself fine. Maybe he is fine. But the writing is on the wall. As I like to say, you can ignore facts but that doesn’t mean facts ignore you. As Francis Hopkinson Smith once said, the claw of the sea puss gets us all in the end. Sooner or later, the strong riptide drags us out to that cold, dark ocean from whence none returns.
No wonder we cling to the dry shore. Nobody wants to leave the party. But is that a smart governmental strategy? The McConnell episode is a reminder that anything can happen at any time. It can come for you in the middle of a news conference. And the older you are, the closer you are to whatever is going to eventually come and get you.
That’s why those handicapping the 2024 election are deluding themselves. The life expectancy of an 80-year-old man is seven years, meaning that should Biden be reelected, the oldest president ever, he’d be pushing his luck to reach the end of his term.
Right now, Biden gives very few news conferences and hasn’t sat down at all with a reporter from a major newspaper. He walks stiffly, speaks awkwardly, was at a loss to say how many grandchildren he has or what his favorite movie is.
Sixty-seven percent of Americans — including half of Democrats — think Biden is too old to run. I am among them.
It isn’t that he hasn’t been an effective president, from marshaling European support for Ukraine to his infrastructure bill. The question is: Will he remain so until he’s 86? Are we willing to bet our country on it?
This is where his probable opponent comes in.
To continue reading, click here.
Gretchen Whitmer and our own J.B. Pritzker also come to mind as viable candidates. I think J.B. would be a great campaigner. He has plenty of enthusiasm, people skills, and he's not afraid to advocate for progressive policies. I'd rather have Whitmer stay in Michigan b/c she's got her MOJO working there.
ReplyDeleteAmen to Gretchen Withmer.
DeleteBecause the paper is a 501(c)3, and not supposed to endorse specific candidates, it snipped off the original ending of this column. But as my blog is not a 501(c)3 and completely separate from the Sun-Times, I feel comfortable sharing it here. The column ends: "We have to support him — fight with the army you have. No matter how old he gets, Joe Biden will never become a traitor and a demagogue. Which is not something I can say about Donald Trump."
ReplyDeleteAmen. I wish you could have put that in the paper - it changes the tenor of the column completely.
DeleteYou have buried the lead at a new low depth. I am a great fan of your writing and almost often am enthusiastic in my support of your analysis, Not this time.
Delete
DeleteI agree with Dennis. That's a huge and crucial deletion. Also, aren't you essentially "endorsing" Gavin Newsom in what was printed?
What if you had said something like "Many will argue that you have to fight with the army you have in order to keep a traitor and a demagogue from completing what he started on Jan. 6, 2021. They may be right."
Sheesh, it's not like you haven't made your implicit endorsement of "anybody but Agent Orange" clear in 20 other columns.
I would guess an endorsement would be for someone that's a declared candidate which Newsom is not
DeleteAs I sit here on my 81-year-old butt rying to think of something useful to say about the age issue, I have to admit I'm not the man I used to be, which wasn't all that much in the first place, but I think I could handle the job of President of the United States as well as anyone younger. What the heck, you don't even have to write your own speeches and I'd have plenty of help thinking as well as speaking. The presidency is of course a popularity contest and unfortunately right now steady Joe is even less popular than traitorous Donald, but I think Kamala will pull him through with the Black vote and eventually become President herself despite the misfortune of not being a viable candidate on her own.
ReplyDeletejohn
ouch! Kamala? save us from that fate. there is something on her resume that precludes me from supporting her: https://www.thedailybeast.com/kamala-harris-ag-office-tried-to-keep-inmates-locked-up-for-cheap-labor
DeleteThat's what bothers me. Kamala Harris did not fare well in the primaries in 2020, and if...or maybe it's when...she succeeds Joe, she would face an extremely tough future.The disapproval that Obama received as a person of color...AND the dislike that Hillary received as a woman. Too much.
DeleteRegarding her capabilities as POTUS...who knows? Truman was condemned and reviled.. His approval rating sank from an all-time high (87%) after dropping the Bomb to 22% (a tie with Bush 43 for lowest ever) by the time of Korea. And yet he is now ranked by historians as as being among the greatest. LBJ might have been up there, too, for his domestic policies and his record on civil rights, had he not been ruined and disgraced by Vietnam. So you never know.
I think (and pray) that Joe will eke out another win, but will not live to finish another term.. Kamala ought to be dropped from the ticket...but for whom? As uncertain as a Harris presidency might appear, it is certainly better than the vision of hell one sees when looking at a return of the Orange Guy. That scenario is too awful to contemplate..Not only as the next president...but probably as the last one.
Problem is if Joe dumps Kamala, too many black voters will stay home & Joe then loses. The only out he has is if a SCOTUS seat opens up & he appoint her to that!
DeleteI'm gonna have this line in a nonstop mental chyron circling inside my head all day: If it’s a struggle to get Dad to give up the car keys, imagine how hard it would be to pry him off Air Force One.
ReplyDeleteI want a working president who can walk, talk and lead and not be sitting in a back room protected from the public because he might embarrass himself or us. Biden would be an outstanding advisor. But he’s shown in public numerous times he’s physically getting weaker and weaker. If we were his kids, we’d take away his car keys. Same for McConnell and Feinstein. It’s time the baby boomers (my husband and I qualify at 76 and 72, respectively) let go of the reins of government power and let the next generation take charge. It’s their world they have to live in for the next fifty years. Let them sit in the driver’s seat. This goes for Democrats and Republicans.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Deborah, but want to point out that Biden was pouring before the baby boom and so was McConnell and feinstein is right in the middle of the greatest generation. So yeah the baby boomers could let go of power that they still haven't completely wrestled from the previous generation.
DeleteI'm 65 and ready to retire because I don't have the juice I used to. I don't know how 80-year-olds think that they're fit to run this country
There were a lot of weird, curving paths that merged to get us where we are, but the fact is there is no Democratic candidate who can step in and save us. The fact that you went to Newsom highlights the most obvious problem: You're going to ask Kamala Harris to go away from the Next In Line Spot? even if she were willing (and the old spite monster Joe Lieberman is still trying to get revenge on Democrats for what he sees as being cheated out of that spot twenty years ago), you think Black voters and women are just gonna shrug and say, 'it's the pragmatic thing to do'? Nothing to do at this point but pray the lord is willing, the creek don't rise, and Joe doesn't have any more senior moments in front of a camera
ReplyDeleteI also have to say: I don't care about his lack of availability to the press. Even the mainstream people would just twist themselves in knots repeating essentially the same two questions: "Aren't you too old?" and "What about Hunter?"
I agree about Biden but Gavin prob. couldn't get elected. He'd be seen as too far left by moderates or never Trumpers, etc.
ReplyDeleteIn a normal time, Biden's age would matter, and he would be challenged in the primaries. But when the hurricane is coming you don't stay put because your car is too old. Kamala Harris has a good resume and she was impressive when speaking as a Senator. I haven't been impressed with what I've seen as VP. Replacing her is dangerous when your margin of victory is so thin. What the country needs is a charismatic and caring human of impeccable credentials and the ability to move minds. Holding the old left and appealing to the young is essential. Young people know they are inheriting a broken world and will vote accordingly if they get a chance in a democratic country. Given them a fighting chance is the Duty of the generation that fought hard for change but lost their way.
ReplyDeleteIf we're going to end up with Biden running for a second term and people are concerned that the vote that comes out for Kamala is important, I think that we should replace her with Stacey Abrams. I know she couldn't even win the governorship in Georgia but she was instrumental in getting two Democratic senators elected in that state and her bonefides are impeccable. She doesn't just have a good resume. She has a great one and it wouldn't frighten me if she ended up becoming president midterm because she leans farther to the left probably than any president we've had in the last 40 years. And personally, I'm looking for a true liberal progressive to be president at least just once. And if it turned out to be the first woman president, I'm all for it
DeleteAren't there any more grocery stores you could have visited rather than depress me like that on a summer Friday? ; )
ReplyDeleteThe problem with this situation is that there are many people who would vote for Biden who won't vote for Gavin Newsom, or, more than likely, anybody else you could name.
I tend to agree with you that Mr. Biden is too old to be President for another four years. It's very disappointing that the Democrat Party doesn't take a meta-level perspective of the situation and demonstrate true "vision" when it comes to the future of our country and their party. The Democrats are totally missing the point here. Non-Democrats that voted for Joe Biden weren't looking for a two-term entrenched Democrat to support for President. We were looking for an elder statesman, a helmsman, to steady the ship and steer us away from the rocky shore after a disastrous four years under el Payaso Naranja. President Biden had done that and we are eternally grateful. But we didn't want him to "stay on" for a second term and push his 50 year old playbook upon us.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I feel that he's going to destroy his legacy and the Democrats are going to go down in flames if they continue down this path. President Biden could go down in history as an exceptional Statesman that took the reigns during an extremely tumultuous period, steadied a stumbling nation, and then stepped aside to allow a younger, more vibrant and progressive group of leaders to emerge and move our country forward. He could transition to retirement and mentor the new generation of policy leaders. But no...he's going to stick it out, continue to deteriorate before the whole world, and quite possibly hand the Presidency back to an equally deteriorating and vengeful narcissist with no actual plans or policies for improving our nation.
Joe Biden should change his mind about running and throw his support behind some younger thought and policy leaders. I'd vote for a ticket of Gretchen Whitmer/Pete Buttigieg. But I can't see myself voting for Biden/Harris. And I'm certainly not voting for the Clown Car party. And before folks pile on about "not voting for Biden" means a vote for Drumpf: it's not my fault that the Democrat party can't put forth a ticket for which non-Democrats can stomach supporting. Democrats (and Republicans) never seem to learn that they can't win elections without the support of independents, progressives, etc. Right now the majority "party" (if you can call them that) is "Independents". Neither party can win without them. If el Payaso Naranja wins again, it will be the fault of the Democrat party for not putting forth a ticket that non-Democrats can support. And I can't in good conscience vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Joe Biden is too old, and Ms. Harris doesn't instill confidence as a person that can lead our nation in these troubled times. I'm sorry but that's the plain truth.
Thanks for letting me share my thoughts on your blog. I'm new to your blog. But grew up in the southwest suburbs (even delivered the Sun-Times and Tribune 7 days a week from age 10-14). Living in Southern Illinois these days. Keep up the good writing.
It's always nice to see a civil new voice contributing to the discussion here, so welcome! Alas, the rest of my comment won't be so agreeable.
DeleteFirst of all, your repeated use of the term "Democrat party" is disappointing. It's the Democratic Party, and lopping off the "ic" turns it into an epithet, according to Wikipedia. Regardless, for decades, it's been the go-to usage for right-wingers seeking to denigrate the other side, so it's not a neutral term.
"I'd vote for a ticket of Gretchen Whitmer/Pete Buttigieg." Good for you, and that would be a reasonable ticket. Except, of course, that there are many in this country who would not vote for a woman for president (Hillary proved that) or a gay person for anything. And an essential component of Biden's winning coalition in 2020 was Black voters who might not be too thrilled to see Kamala shown the door. If the core Democrats aren't on board, Independents won't put the ticket over the top.
Why is it that the Republicans can run the most rabid, far-right, borderline delusional candidates and win, yet Democrats must appeal to the Independents rather than their own base? Justify it however you like, but if Biden is the candidate, "not voting for Biden" will indeed be the same as "a vote for Drumpf."
Republicans can run their cult leader, an incompetent, sexist, racist traitor, but it he wins, "it will be the fault of the Democrat party..." Uh, no, it won't. It would be the fault of his millions of deluded supporters, who refuse to recognize a blatant conman and criminal when they see one, and the Independents who, as Neil has pointed out before, were willing to let the house burn down because they didn't like the person driving the fire truck that showed up to save it.
Hear! Hear! We know that Biden can and will win...so why mess with that success! For what!
DeleteThank you for saying "...".lopping off the "-ic" turns it into an epithet, according to Wikipedia. Regardless, for decades, it's been the go-to usage for right-wingers seeking to denigrate the other side, so it's not a neutral term." And nearly everybody knows that tese days, because it's been in use by the Party of No, the Gee-Oh, Pee, for a long time now. At least since Obama took office...if not before.
DeleteWhich is why anyone who employs it gets the old arched eyebrow of skepticism, at least on my face.. Newbie or not. Sun-Times delivery person or not. And there are multiple counties in southern Illinois that both Hillary and Joe lost by 60 points.
Thanks, Linda C. and Grizz, and that's a fine post at 3:36, Linda.
DeleteSome "Democrat Party" history:
"The noun-as-adjective has been used by Republican leaders since the 1940s, and in most GOP national platforms since 1948..."
"The phrase Democrat Party gained new currency when the Republican Party, led by Gingrich, gained control of the House of Representatives in 1994."
Of course, after the despicable Newticle, it was favored by G. W. Bush and the Biggest Loser, too. Perhaps even more pathetic than the expected hackneyed partisanship of the two worst presidents of my lifetime, "According to Media Matters for America, the 'ungrammatical' and 'partisan' use of the phrase Democrat Party has 'echoed Republicans' with its use in the Associated Press, CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Tribune."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(epithet)
Anti-Democracy Greedy Obnoxious Pricks are afraid to say "Democratic" lest they burst into flames. We live in the real world so it doesn't matter who we would like to vote for. The only consideration is beating Drumpf or whatever fascist runs in his place.
DeleteIt may not be your fault that the dems don't seem to have another viable candidate, but I'm still gonna pile on about "not voting for Biden..."
ReplyDeleteI saw this and had to post my recent Facebook post on this very subject...
ReplyDeletePardon me while I go one a rant about something that has come up repeatedly and I have had it up to here about…and that is the subject of Biden being too old to run again or be re-elected President. Yes, he is old…no doubt about that. But aging is an individual thing and some handle it better than others. We all have limitations as we grow older and we have to adjust accordingly. Biden may not be able to do what he once was able to, physically, but he is sharp in every way that our country needs at this time. The press interviewed many world leaders on his last trip abroad and hands down they were so impressed by his command of the issues, his ability to speak on issues in a straightforward manner with little reliance on notes, his ability to strengthen the Nato alliances and bring them together on issues that are of great importance at this time, etc., etc., etc.
And yet, I continue to hear that we need someone younger. Oh really? Who? Who can do a better job than he has done? Name them! …and by the way, why aren’t they president today?
So, let me get this straight…since Biden has been president, childhood poverty has dropped to the lowest on record…as has teenage pregnancy…the U.S. dollar has had generational highs over the past year, the number of jobs openings is also at record highs (unemployment is at a 50 year low)…a near record low unemployment rate for African Americans and Hispanics…our GDP growth was at $25 trillion last year…we once again have the strongest economy on the globe…the U.S. economy and our allies collectively is steadily growing and is stronger than China’s economy which is stagnating…inflation is headed in the right direction…Morgan Stanley has revised its bleak economic forecast and insists it’s because “Bidenomics” is working….gas prices are down…750,000 new manufacturing jobs…he fully vaccinated 79% of American adults against Covid…infrastructure investments in all 50 states…etc., etc., etc.…We haven’t seen this kind of performance since FDR and/or LBJ…and he has plans for more!
Are thing perfect? Of course not! But as he has said “Don’t compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative”.
So, with this kind of a record from old President Biden…I find it mind boggling to hear the complaining and wanting to have someone “younger”. What? Have you seen this guy’s record? So, to those who are wishing for a “younger” or any alternative to Biden, who BTW has outperformed in almost every way, my question to you is, “What, are you, NUTS?!” – End of rant.
...and to those who are not wanting to give Biden the credit for his list of accomplishments, let me share one of Bill Clinton's favorite sayings, "If you find a turtle on a fence post, it did not get there on its own."
Amen, Linda. Unfortunately Truth is a wooden nickel these days and your excellent post falls on ignorant ears. All we can do is vote and hope.
DeleteBravo! Totally true. We haven't seen this kind of record since LBJ. Maybe even since FDR. But FDR's brilliance was counterbalanced by a number of liabilities...he was handicapped physically by polio, he was a heavy user of tobacco and alcohol, and he ignored the advice of physicians.
DeleteConsequently, FDR had serious heart issues that were kept from him. He was not told about them because he was so desperately needed as a wartime chief executive. But by the last year of his third term he was a very sick man, and staying in office for a fourth term finally did him in...at just 63.
Biden is in much better shape, despite being almost 81.. What I fear is either a rapid and precipitous cognitive and/or physical decline, or a sudden demise. A stroke, or a fatal heart attack. He could be sailing along, accomplishing even more than he has in the last 2 1/2 years...and then suffer the same fate as FDR.
I am not normally a praying man. But I am going to pray for Joe, work for him, vote for him, pray for him some more, and keep my fingers and toes crossed. Hopefully for the next 5 1/2 years. Perhaps both of us will still be around that long.
I’m glad that we don’t hear much from Biden. That’s normal times folks. I don’t generally want to hear from or about the president every day. That happens when there’s a crisis (when Bush II had to) or when there’s a deranged attention seeking stooge in office. (You know who.) I fear he was such a desperate beggar for clicks that he changed the way people see things. It’s not normal or desirable to be bombarded by presidential bullshit every day. I like someone who will shut up and get things done.
ReplyDeleteI’m back again with a follow-up comment. I’d like to hear how young folks - young meaning 50 and under - feel about Biden and all the other US leaders who are older than 75 and if they are “too old” to run. In reading through the comments, it seems like the majority who replied are in the baby boom+ age group. I’d like to hear from younger folks. It’s going to be their world soon, not ours.
ReplyDeleteI'm more frustrated with Biden failing to deliver on his campaign promises than I am with his age.
DeleteHe promised student debt forgiveness, to protect trans people, to protect LGBTQ rights, and to protect the right to choose. He is utterly failing to deliver on ALL of this.
Bernie is super old, too, but he would have fought for us.
Southern Illinois? hmmmmmmm/ more like KY or Missouri
ReplyDeleteI'd vote for the hundred year old man before I'd vote for any republican currently in the running
ReplyDeleteI'd vote for SpongeBob bbefore any Republican.
DeleteAlan - longtime reader, occasional commenter
wow, this column almost reached an Aldi level of response
ReplyDeletepaul w, roscoe village