This story from The Hill via Yahoo News by Monique Beals strikes me as big news:
Former senior Obama adviser David Axelrod warned that President Biden’s age could be a “major issue†in the 2024 presidential election.
“The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue,†Axelrod told The New York Times of 79-year-old Biden.
“He looks his age and isn’t as agile in front of a camera as he once was, and this has fed a narrative about competence that isn’t rooted in reality,†he added.
Maybe Mr. Axelrod is speaking only for himself in which case it’s only marginally interesting. However, if he’s giving voice to what the Democratic establishment is thinking, it’s the flip side of the damage control coin we’ve seen lately from of the usual suspects. It would indicate that Democrats are starting to distance themselves from President Biden, hoping to stave off the wave election that many are predicting at this point.
I happen to think that Mr. Biden is, indeed, too old to be president. I thought so in 2020 and said as much and, not to belabor the point, but he’s only older now. And the observation that the presidency tends to age the incumbent is pretty quotidian. You need only look at a sequence of pictures of the president, starting on election day and proceeding throughout the presidency. I feel a certain amount of authority in saying that, being closer in age to Joe Biden than I am to most of my readers.
I also think that Mr. Axelrod is correct in observing that the degree to which Mr. Biden is suffering from, say, senile dementia (to use the old-fashioned term) is grossly exaggerated. But you don’t have to think that he’s senile to think that he’s lost a step or two over the years.
One should look at Biden’s speeches while VP or debates in 2008/2012 and compare to his speeches today. What catches my ear is how much slower Biden speaks now, it may not be related to cognition (could Biden have vision problems reading from a teleprompter?), but it is there.
It does make one wonder — could 2024 end up being an open field on both sides?
Agree that he will be too old. So is Trump, at least 10 senators and a bunch of Congress people including Pelosi.
Steve
Clearly those who portray Biden as in full blown dementia are wrong, and just engaging in hyperbole. I know, amazing in politics. But its not helpful.
However, CO is correct, you don’t have to be a trained medical professional to see the rather pronounced deterioration. (I watch it in my mother in law over the last 5 years as well.)
As the medical profession is want to do, they stage. Generally a 7 stage measure wrt dementia, with 1 being normal. With the obvious caveat that true classification requires a qualified professional, it seems pretty clear he is Stage 3 to late Stage 3: Mild Cognitive Impairment. But not 4: Mild Dementia. Of course, more importantly, one has to wonder about rate of decline. But in any event, its scary that the president is even 3. All because of soft issues: mean tweets and perceived chaos. (So the Biden White House is not chaotic – right. Snicker)
Interestingly, one of the characteristics of Stage 4 is “difficulty with remembering details about ones personal history.”
Hmmm. Has Biden been in dementia for decades? Or is he a bald faced liar? Perhaps only Corn Pop knows.
The undeniable fact is that Biden is our current president, he beat Trump fair and square, and he is not at all like Reagan. The democrats are still in the majority. You can’t spin that reality, it is not fake news!
†The undeniable fact is that Biden is our current president, he beat Trump fair and square, and he is not at all like Reagan. “
Using “fair and square†to describe the presidential seating of Biden is a fantasy, deceptively put out there by Dems. Yes, Reagan is not at all like Biden. Reagan was a much better human being as well as president, and handled aging much more gracefully.
â€The democrats are still in the majority. You can’t spin that reality, it is not fake news!â€
The democrats hold a slim margin of power which they heavily exploit, and use to hammer unwelcomed policies over the heads of people. Judging by the reception Biden gets, when he’s out and about, as well as his sinking poll numbers (especially among independents, the young, minority groups), it looks like people are pretty fed up with Biden and his horrible policies too – both here and abroad.