Joe Biden ist just like many octogenariens.....

[KekseKekse]

.....who doesn't realise that he is past his prime and needs to leave it to someone else in the Democratic Party to run for the US presidency. Just like an octogenarian car driver, who insists that they are fit to drive, when everyone around them can see otherwise and it's up to their nearest and dearest to take away their car keys or report them to the DVLA.

Unfortunately, in the case of Joe Biden, he is wilfully refusing to listen to everyone telling him that if he tries for another term against Trump he will lose and give that awful man more power.

Today Biden said in an interview that only if a doctor told him he wasn't capable of standing would he listen. So, just like a lot of elderly drivers whose reflexes and reaction times are seriously on the decline , but won't listen until they have an accident, or worse, kill someone. I just despair!

I'm so angry with Biden too. And if he still keeps doing that little mini jog every time he walks somewhere, i will throw something at the telly.

Trump and Biden as candidates are truly awful for different reasons. Maybe the democrats planned this though- put up an old man who won't win as they know trump js going to win anyway.

It's hard to blame the Democrats for picking him. If you have a sitting president who wants to stand for a second term then it would be a massive deal to stand against him in the primaries or to vote against him.

I don't disagree that it would be a big deal, @TheQueenWhoNeverWas, but it looks rather smaller compared to handing the election to Trump on a plate

There comes a point where the country's interests need to be set above those a a party, and for many of us that point has come ... and gone

Certainly some Democrats will never forgive the leadership for this, and that's entirely the party's own fault

I can't speak for anyone else but when I vote for someone I base that vote on what they say they'll do and how likely I judge it to happen. If a candidate appears unwell I would assume what they're promising isn't likely to happen.
I have never ever based my vote on what a candidate might be like in 3 years time.

I don't know what the lower age limit is, but I assume like voting it's when you are legally an adult do yes IMO it's okay.
No one wants a minor as president.

Maybe not but society recognise, s that as people get older their cognitive ability declines as can their physical ability, hence retirement

I'm assuming most people wouldn't want an 82 year old surgeon preforming major heart surgery on them
Also the older someone gets the more likely to develop health issues
It does seem ridiculous that the two candidates for POTUS ,which is a job which really does require you to be on the ball ,are an 81 year old and a 78 year old.

I think it's 35 ?

So much ageist crap on here. I know plenty of people in their 80s who are still driving well and happily, in fact I have a friend who is 92 and still driving well.

I don't feel strongly about Biden one way or another, as the USA is clearly in a terrible place and is just going to keep deteriorating with either Biden or Trump. Let them get on with it.

Yes I was right someone one has to be at least 35 to run for POTUS so quite a few years after becoming a legal Adult.

My Dad's still driving at 82 I wouldn't say well though ,but he only drives too and from tesco he couldn't manage long journeys
But driving is very different from being in charge of one of the worlds super powers

@Collexifon

"So much ageist crap on here. I know plenty of people in their 80s who are still driving well and happily, in fact I have a friend who is 92 and still driving well."

Hmmm bit of a difference between driving a car and being the President of the world's biggest economy and biggest nuclear armed super power.

So criticise the OP then, as that was the comparison they made

I hate when people call sensible discussion on someone older "ageist". What exactly is ageist then?
Im nearly 60 and im certainly not the same as someone in their 20s or 30s. And i realise this, because ive been 20 and 30!! Joe biden is obviously not competent for the presidency due to his age. In his 50s or 60s he may have been brilliant but we dont know that.
I never know whether someone crying "ageist" on here is A. Old and trying to deny it or B. Young and trying to be woke.

Really? The OP who tried to compare Biden's desperate grasp for the presidency with older people driving. That's ageist. You don't have to have a pop at people in their 80s generally to discuss whether Biden is deluded or not.

The Times had an interesting article explaining how the process for choosing a candidate has changed. I wasn't really aware of this.

Years ago it was less democratic but perhaps ironically might have prevented the situations with both Trump and Biden if things were still run this way.

https://www.thetimes.com/article/4713ab63-d9e2-4fc7-8561-699a6d9ffc52?shareToken=44b0534e3acd8d2b4ae134686db7dcc9

I don't know about the ageism but it is definitely a silly comparison.

The skills you need to drive a car are quite a bit different to the skills you need to be present of the US.

If being a great driver made you a great politician we should probably have Damon Hill or Lewis Hamilton in at No. 10.

As for 80 year olds as presidents, I'm met a few 80 years old in the very technical areas I work in and they are definitely not as mobile as they once were but are razor sharp. I'm also met some that are losing it. It depends on the person.

I didn't know that, thank you. I guess the fore fathers thought anyone younger wouldn't have enough life experience but IMO 35 is to old as a lower age limit.

um, yes we do. Often for insurance purposes. Most large partnerships (law firms, accountancy firms) have enforced retirement ages for partners.

And all the while, Trump’s unhinged ramblings are not receiving the scrutiny that they should. Neither candidate is fit for the post.

It’s all so bizarre. I imagine that being president of the US is a pretty full-on job. Requiring plenty of 10 hour plus working days dealing with highly complex issues.

The US will have a president in their 80’s whoever wins. I don’t care how fit and healthy someone is in their 80’s, no 80 year old can work as hard or effectively as someone half their age. I feel very sorry for the US citizens being given these 2 options.

Exactly! After our election last week there were interviews with the newest youngest mp where the interviewers were blatantly asking him if he had enough life experience to be an MP - ageism is supposed to be more against the elderly but nobody was asking the opposite question of the oldest MP!

It's okay to suggest various restrictions on younger drivers and penalise them financially but not older ones who are also an increased risk....

I'm British not American, though I have family and friends there.

It's their battle not mine. They're somewhat dismayed that it's a battle between two old men.

So an upper age limit isn't such a bad idea

Mick Jagger is the same age as Biden... If only Biden were half as fit.

l imagine that being president of the US is a pretty full-on job. Requiring plenty of 10 hour plus working days dealing with highly complex issues

Fortunately there'll always be plenty of staff to deal with the complex issues, but you're right about the potential very long days

What beats me is how the hell Biden's going to get through the rest of the campaign, but I suppose they can blame everything on his Covid at least for a while