As you doubtlessly know, President Biden announced last week (by this video) that he is running for re-election in 2024. That was not welcomed by some Democrats, even many who are supporters of the President and voted for him in 2020 (as I am and did). The main concern is his advanced age.
President Biden is already the oldest President in U.S.
history—and it is still over 625 days until the end of his present term. If
re-elected, he would be expected to serve for another five years and 8½ months
from now. That would put him two months past his 86th birthday.
The President seems to be physically fit now with no major
health concerns. But what about 5.7 years from now? There certainly is a
possibility that he would be able to finish a second term with no major health
issue arising. There perhaps is a stronger possibility that he would not be
able to do that.
Yes, I know that people age at different rates. When I was
still teaching in my mid-70s, some of my students remarked on how much more
vigorous I was than their grandfathers who were the same age. But I wouldn’t
have enough energy to teach that once-a-week three-hour evening course now, and
I am not yet 85.
There are many things I was able to do when I was 80 that I
no longer feel up to—despite being in good health. I am not inclined to
think it will be markedly different for Pres. Biden. Of course, he would be
surrounded by aides, advisors, and a large staff of helpers we ordinary people
don’t have.
Does raising questions about Biden’s age indicate ageism?
According to Ageism.org, “Ageism is the
discrimination against an individual strictly on the basis of their age.”
Along with racism, sexism, and ableism, ageism is an ongoing
societal problem. People should not be discriminated against and denigrated
because of some personal characteristic. All people have equal worth and should
be treated with equal respect.
But there is a distinct difference between racism and sexism
on the one hand and ableism and ageism on the other. The former pair is based
on the idea that those of one race/color are superior to those of another
race/color and that males are superior to females.
Some “discrimination” because of the latter pair is not a
matter of worth but of needed abilities to perform certain tasks. If I were needing
brain surgery, I wouldn’t want a surgeon with Parkinson’s disease—or an
85-year-old surgeon, for that matter—to perform that surgery.
Does that mean I would be guilty of ableism or ageism? I
think not.
Similarly, to raise questions about Pres. Biden being too
old to start a second term as President at age 82 is an expression of
legitimate concern, not an indication of ageism.
Still, if Pres. Biden is nominated for a second term,
I will vote for him. It is looking more and more as if Donald Trump will be the
Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election. If he is, I have no
doubt but that Pres. Biden, although older, has better physical and mental
health.
Some Republican politicians are, of course, saying that voting for Biden
would likely end with Vice President Harris becoming President before Biden’s
second term would be completed.
Last week it was reported (here, for example) that Republican presidential candidate
Nikki Haley said that Pres. Biden will likely die within five years and that
his supporters would have to count on Vice President Harris if he were to win
re-election next year.
And, of course, that could well happen. But that might not
be so bad. Last week, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson posted an
opinion article regarding the Vice President’s hard job at the present and her
suitability to succeed Pres. Biden, if that should be necessary. (You can read
that article here without a paywall).
I close with this bit of levity. At last Saturday night’s White House
Correspondents’ Dinner, Biden joked about his age: he said he believes in the
First Amendment that protects freedom of the press, and “not just because my
good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it.”
