Biden is slow, will forget words etc. But Trump was different type of crazy in the sense he spoke fast but in a span of a 30 second soundbites he would jump to completely different topics 3 times with no coherence. Like he'll somehow bring up Oprah in the middle of a rant about windmills kinda like a schizophrenic homeless man.
He is...but if that goes well and he makes a name for himself nationally, who knows. At the least, assuming he wins the Senate seat, he could be a candidate in 2028.
Biden is old and slow, he's also had a history of saying stupid things and mangling words. So did the last President and both Bushes. Obama was exceptional for how careful he spoke but he hesitated a lot to avoid mangling things for example "Umm... er... Yes, the situation in Syria, is ummm.. very difficult.. er... Russian involvement helping Assad.. is ummm... very concerning.." That Biden is forgetful and slow I don't think indicates dementia. I agree ideally we shouldn't have Biden as President but as I said during that campaign just from a health and age category we shouldn't have Trump or Bernie Sanders either. Pelosi and Schumer should step down and so should 80 year old McConnell. That said they are the one's who survived the primaries and won their general elections. This isn't a problem of just one person but a problem of our overall system.
I don't think there is a non physical job that has age limits. A lot of us who have been in this forum for as long as us have elderly parents. I'm blessed to have both, father 85, mother 82. At age 78 my mother's mind was still very strong and only now am I seeing some mental slowing but she is still very aware and even though she may process slower I don't see any decline In memory. Luckily my dad doesn't have any documented issues but I do see a little which he would acknowledge. Anyway, I value my mother's judgment and there is value to in age as long as its not a hinderance
Biden is president because of the system I agree. We have at least 3 parties that make up the Dem coalition and you cannot win with a candidate who is not ideologically appealing to all from a policy perspective. The Democratic voters in 20 were pretty smart to play political pundit on Super Tuesday and it’s a reason why people like myself made the decision to vote for Biden instead of my preferred pick Warren. Does that mean that his gaffs some coming from age affect his job performance??… imo no. He’s not hiding out at Mar a lago 4 days a week or anything. I think he’s doing fine, but should he run again in 24 because his age might be an issue in his second term like it was for Reagan?? well there might not be enough time to have a winning path if he announces he’s not running and I’m not entirely sure we won’t be in the same situation where if it’s not him, we have to deal with the potential for an ideologically stubborn candidate to get the nomination who has a much lower likelihood of winning.
Yes there are many who can maintain mental sharpness well into advanced age. My Dad turns 80 this year and he's working on patents for battery charging and in the last couple of years has published scientific papers on the nature of matter. That said he's not nearly as energetic as he was even 10 years ago or 15 years ago when he was still maintaining a full schedule of teaching and running a lab. Time will get all of us in the end. While people are different and can handle different levels of stress being President with so much at stake and so much stress I don't think it's good to have people in their late 70's and 80's running the government. Just consider what Clinton, Obama and GW Bush looked like at the beginning of their Presidencies to even the end of their first terms. It's very obvious that being President can take a physical toll and these were men who were in their 40's when they were elected. I don't think we should have an age limit on being President but I also think that as an electorate age should be an issue.
Yes Biden isn't the doddering fool that his critics make him out to be. He's made mistakes but so have Presidents much younger than him. If he runs again whether I vote for him again will largely depend on who his opposition is but In general I don't think it is a good idea for someone his age to be in this role.
Neither was Reagan in his second term but it was deemed important to have a continuation of his staff and policy and progression on conservative remaking of American politics and governance. At that point he was more of a figurehead and the job was mostly about representing Reaganism than actual sharp performances. With Biden the issue is going to be momentum of the Biden agenda and not wanting to stop a forward moving train if it is moving. So a lot of “will Biden run” will likely come down to winning the midterms and seeing legislation actually getting passed. If the R’s take over the House and or Senate, regardless of age, the Dems probably need to act quick to see if a Chris Murphy or Corey Booker or whomever could still hold together the coalition of voters but also be viewed as a fresh face. So when it comes to ageism and Biden Id look towards the mid point of Reagan’s first term. The next 6 months will show us pretty clearly what the party and the voters should do.
I think he has to at least claim that he's running in order to get anything accomplished or taken seriously. If he announces now that he won't be running in 2024, people will write him off. I have no idea whether or not he will be running. It is possible for him to run again. It's possible that he won't.
So you have stopped claiming you are a moderate democrat these days? Well, that's something at least.
Trump a paragon of lucidity? The guy who couldn't remember the name of the candidate he was endorsing and ended up mashing up his name with the name of his opponent? At a rally where there were literally signs for the candidate he was endorsing right in front him?