Biden president at 78.

[mikkyr]

I just don’t really understand... 78? He will be 82 at the end of his term. They’ve made such a big deal about Trump being one of very few presidents who failed to secure a 2nd term so will Biden run again at 82? And then we have a 86 year old US president at the end of that term?

Is the consensus that Biden won’t see out this term and hand over to Harris?

I recall my grandparents needing 2 days of recovery after their UK-SA air travel at a younger age and there is no jet lag to factor in.
How is this guy going to cope? And quite honestly why does someone who should be enjoying their retirement have any desire to be president. I get these men live off power but why do voters think this is reasonable.

He was an excellent choice. The country is clearly not ready for a woman of colour to be president after 4 years of raging racism. He is a respected older man who the republicans could get behind. He's likable, a soldier and widely considered a true patriot. He isn't thought of as a socialist, which was always going to be the scare tactic used by his opponents.

I really feel that the US was pulled back from the brink yesterday. Hopefully, it will have an effect on the culture of populism throughout the West.

I know it’s no where near the same job or pressures but Prince Phillip spent 52 days carrying out engagements when he was 96 (more than the Queen, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge that year) before he retired from public duties.

Yes it is. Oh and it's compos mentis

It would be ageist to say they absolutely wouldn’t be because they are that age. It would not be at all ageist to point out the probabilities involved of their being at the peak of their abilities, which, surely, is what a country wants when electing a leader.

@Grenlei

I think the electoral system in the US is broken when your 2 options are Trump and Biden. Can they really be the 2 best people that could leave the country? Trump's failings are obvious, Biden is better but tbh not much better. He looks old, ill and tired. I'd be surprised if he lasts the full 4 years. Kamala Harris is very left wing so I'm not sure how that will pan out when inevitably she has to take over.

The Electoral College Vote has nothing to do with who is running for Presidency. You forget about our Primaries. 29 people ran for the Democratic nomination including Harris. Biden beat them all.

He openly campaigned as a one term president. At least do your most basic reading before starting a thread about something.

Is the consensus that Biden won’t see out this term and hand over to Harris?

Yes. This has been said pretty much from when he got into the race.

He looks old, ill and tired.

What nonsense. He looks just fine.

Well the alternative was Trump and he is mentally less sharp and physically less fit than Biden, despite being younger. Age is just a number.

@flaviaritt

Yes it is. Oh and it's compos mentis

It would be ageist to say they absolutely wouldn’t be because they are that age. It would not be at all ageist to point out the probabilities involved of their being at the peak of their abilities, which, surely, is what a country wants when electing a leader.

But that's what was said.... That someone in their 70s isn't compos mentis enough. There was no mention of probability. It absolutely was an ageist remark.

I do understand how the nomination process works thanks

But it astonishes me that the output of such a lengthy process is that Trump and Biden are the best 2 candidates. Can that really be true? Honestly I wouldn't want either of them running my country.

SomeSmotheringDreams

Yes.

Noone knows about his health tbh. He looks healthy enough to me. And when you consider that he is rich and will have access to some of the best drs when he takes office I really doubt there is much to worry about

In regards to his "confusion" people with stutters often mix up words or miss them out and they struggle to go back and correct themselves. He is also been known for this for a lot of years if you look into history.
He isnt anti british, he is pro upholding the good friday agreement. Hardly anti british is it? Maybe this will make johnson et al actually negotiate with europe properly, instead of just selling off parts of the nhs for lower food standards....

Aridane ?

I'm with you OP. I think they're both too old. I thought Bernie Sanders was too old. Comparisons to people like David Attenborough or Prince Phillip are pointless. Neither presided over arguably the most important global economies in the world. If he dies in office it will be hugely disruptive.

It doesn't compare to concluding anything about a person's ability based on their colour, or their sex. Colour and sex don't impact on health/performance like age does.

Biden beat them all.

He really only beat ten of them, and even that's a stretch with six of those having dropped out before Super Tuesday, the rest dropped out before the primaries, mostly because of lack of funds (or support from sponsors to get those funds). Harris was one of them. I wouldn't call that Biden beating the rest as much as the system beating them. Running for president is ridiculously expensive, especially with how they're currently funded and regulated. We're only going to get candidates with their hands in deep pockets. Like DrBlackbird said, a major reason it ended up Biden was money.

I don't know anyone who thinks Biden is 'the best' the Democrats have to offer, let alone the US. He just had the wealth, social connections, and in the Democrat's comfort zone of being well-known and center-right (Harris even more so on the latter point). As much as I would have preferred Yang or Gabbard, they were always going to be a long-shot compared to those who can throw millions at this and tick all the boxes.

Yeah, the system has a lot of problems and neither of the parties really have much interest in fixing them - those who get in made it work. The UK has a bit more protection from some of these issues, but the overall issue of political corruption leaving many broken areas still remains.

He was also Vice President 4 years ago so I feel like he is fully aware of what it physically and mentally entails and already has the experience which will make it easier for him to adapt. But he seems pretty sprightly and alert to me.

I get bored with this “white male” trope, though, to be honest. I don’t care what colour someone is or what sex they are. The issue with Biden is his age (and, allegedly, his wandering hands). The issue with Trump is his questionable grasp on reality. I couldn’t care less about “male and pale”. When a black man came up for election he was fantastic, and America elected him fair and square. Time for more candidates of colour and female candidates to present themselves?

@WaterOffADucksCrack

I think many people worrying about Biden's age are really concerned about a black female taking over if something happens to him.

I don't agree with this. I think its more that you voted for one person and got handed another. I suppose if you were a Trump fan and got Pence, you'd feel the same way. Or Tony Blair and Gordon Brown? America would not have voted in a woman, look at Hillary Clinton. Its not about Harris being black, its morethe sense that they have teed this up so that Biden steps aside at some point.

There is another thread on MN about classifying ages. According to the consensus 86 is late middle age so his second term should be fine.

Fair enough flaviaritt but they don’t even surround themselves with young, bright Americans. America was founded on open immigration but you don’t see an array of young, female, black or Latino deputies/aids/interns etc. The whole American system is WASP dominated.

There is definitely that issue, but America is majority white in almost every state. It is not that surprising (to me anyway) that the majority of political leaders this century are still white.

@Skysblue

I hope that Biden makes it to the end of his term but I would be surprised if he does.

It was ridiculous watching two elderly men compete for one of the most fast-paced long hours jobs in the world. Particularly as both parties had some great younger candidates available. There should be an age limit, it’s become ‘whoever has stacked up the most political favours’ gets selected as candidate and that is biased towards the very old.

And it is not ‘ageist’ to recognise that mental and physical abilities fade as we get very old. I watched all of my grandparents fade and I see it in the local elderly. It’s just what happens.

I am quite excited about the prospect of Harris taking over mid term though. I think she’d be great.

No. The people decide who runs for President. 29 people ran for the democratic nomination including Harris. He beat them all by popular vote

It’s pretty universally understood in political circles that Biden only intends to be a one- term president and that he pretty much came out of retirement to get Trump out of the White House.

Dana Bash in CNN said she’d spoken to him about his decision to run and he said it was Trump’s refusal to condemn the far-right demonstrations in Charlottesville that made the decision for him.

It totally depends on the 80 year old. My DH’s Grandad is 86 and he’s sprightly as anything. Not all elderly people are ready for the grave you know...