2024: An election for the “ages”

Here’s the unvarnished truth: President Joseph Biden is old. At 78, he was already the oldest President ever when he took office in 2021. If re-elected, he will be 86 when his second term expires.

That’s not what anyone would view as the ideal age for a President of the United States. Many of us would have preferred a significantly younger alternative. The problem was: Who? Rightly or wrongly, most of us remained convinced that Biden was our best shot for winning in November. And it’s always tough to “depose” an incumbent. So here we are.

The question now is not whether or not Biden is old (he is!). The question is whether his age should be a determining factor in his re-election (it shouldn’t). The long-simmering concerns about his age recently exploded into the public consciousness with the release of the Hur report. The report presents the findings of an investigation into Biden’s potential mis-handling of classified documents. It concluded there was no evidence of any wrong-doing.

However, a sentence in the report characterized Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Was this an inappropriate gratuitous comment, one that should never have been included in the report? Absolutely. This was a partisan hit job — designed to provoke exactly the sort of reaction it did provoke — pouring gasoline on the flames of the “age issue.” Hur’s thinking was apparently: “If I can’t attack Biden for breaking the law, I’ll find some other way to undermine him.” 

For months now, Biden’s campaign staff and supporters have tried to side-step “the age issue” — limiting Biden’s unscripted appearances and vehemently denouncing anyone who questioned Biden’s competence. Essentially, denying that Biden’s age was an issue at all. The Hur report, fairly or unfairly, has made that much more difficult. Which is just as well. Because the age issue is real; voters are thinking about it. That’s why I believe the best way to deal with it is to confront it head on.

Point out Biden’s accomplishments

By almost any measure, Biden has had an extraordinarily successful Presidency. He has shepherded several significant bills through Congress — with bipartisan support. And he is currently overseeing a positive and improving economy — with low inflation and positive wage growth. This is not what you get from a person who is simply “well-meaning.” This is what you get from a strong and vigorous leader. He should keep it up! We can acknowledge Biden’s age as a potential concern but stress that it hasn’t prevented him from being effective. Far from it.

The media keep telling us how Biden isn’t getting the credit he deserves here. That is a problem…but we should keep pushing the narrative anyway. Eventually, inevitably, it will gain traction.

Make it clear that Trump is not a viable alternative

On the flip side are the extreme negatives of the MAGA party’s (I can no longer call it the Republican Party) nominee: the twice-impeached four-times-indicted ex-President, Donald Trump. He is also old (he’s the second oldest person ever to be elected President!). And while his physical appearance tends to belie his age more than is the case for Biden, his mental sharpness is in graver doubt. If you actually listen to his speeches at campaign rallies, they sound almost incoherent — bordering on word salad. And this has been a matter of concern for a long time, not just in the past year or so.

Still, there’s only so much you can do here. You can point out that Trump confused Nicki Haley with Nancy Pelosi. Then the other side will point out that Biden confused Mexico with Egypt. In any case, you don’t want your campaign slogan to be: “Biden: Not as gaff-prone as the other guy.” This is especially a problem for Biden because the public tends to give Trump more of a pass on the age issue. Regardless, we shouldn’t give Trump a pass here. Whenever possible, we should point out how Trump is far from the competent persona he pretends to be.

Of course, Trump’s mental acuity (or lack thereof) is only the opening salvo for why you would not want him as President again. He is one of the worst examples of humanity that has ever walked the earth. He is an insurrectionist, a fraud, and a rapist — among his many crimes. He deserves to be in prison — not the White House. He seeks to dismantle our democratic institutions — as a means to promote his own self-interests. He wants to be a dictator and use the power of the Presidency for personal revenge rather than to benefit the country. And almost every sentence that he utters is a lie. And, well you know the rest. I needn’t go on. On a rational level, the election should already be over: Biden wins.

The problem is that, despite all of the above, Trump remains a serious threat to win in November. Polls show that, due to the extreme polarization of our politics, even if he is a convicted felon by Election Day, he still has a shot a victory. I have trouble wrapping my mind around this fact. But it’s true. My incredulity won’t change that. That doesn’t mean we should avoid talking about Trump’s crimes. To the contrary, we should push it as hard as we can. As Trump’s legal woes mount, it is taking an increasing toll. It may yet determine the outcome of this election.

Focus on what people are actually voting for

After having acknowledged age as an issue, it becomes time to move beyond it. As pointed out by an excellent article in The Atlantic by David Graham:

“Whereas Biden can seem bumbling and mild in public, aides’ accounts of his private demeanor depict an engaged, incisive, and sometimes hot-tempered president.” In contrast, former Trump aides describe him as “a person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law,” who “shouldn’t be anywhere near the Oval Office.”

“None of this is to say that Biden’s memory lapses aren’t worth concern or that he is as vigorous as he was as a younger man. But someone voting for Biden is selecting, above all, a set of policy ideas and promises that he has laid out, with the expectation that the apparatus of the executive branch will implement them.”

With Trump, you are instead voting for chaos and the potential destruction of democracy. True, among some sectors of the electorate, there is a wish to dismiss this as partisan hyperbole. It’s our job to convince them otherwise.

Dan Pfeiffer addresses these same issues in his excellent blog post “How to Navigate the Age Debate”:

“Mr. Biden should emphasize that age alone is not what counts; it’s the wisdom of his ideas. And contrast his forward-looking views on climate change, abortion rights and reasonable gun control with Mr. Trump’s backward views on these issues.”

“This election is not a referendum on whether an 81-year-old should serve another four years as President. The election is a choice between a decent, accomplished 81-year-old man who cares about you and an incompetent, chaotic 77-year-old criminal who only cares about himself.”

Get out the vote

Finally, we get back to the basics. It’s a truism of elections that the side that does a better job of getting their supporters to the polls typically wins — especially if you represent the side that has greater support (which I believe are the Democrats). You can then cement your victory by convincing “swing voters” to join your side.

As Mike Lux put it in a recent blog post:

“The 2024 election will not be determined by Joe Biden’s age.”

“Voters are going to do what they normally tend to do: vote for the candidate who they think shares their values and their agenda. In 7 of the 8 presidential elections, more voters have voted for the Democrat rather than the Republican, and I believe that will be the case again.”

Regardless, winning in November is not going to be easy. We have “a lot of difficult work to do.” But it can be done: “Democrats need to settle down and get back to business — registering voters, signing up volunteers, raising money, reaching out to our progressive friends, and focusing on the economic issues that matter to people. If we do, we will win this election.”

Sound familiar? Yup…that’s because it’s exactly what we here at Invisible East Bay have been doing since our inception seven years ago — and will continue to do every day until Election Day…and beyond.

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