Joe Biden – Too Old?

This is more of a rant than a commentary or request for feedback. Though I present it in part as an anecdote of why survey data should be read with skepticism.

Many “news” articles and commentaries note that some enormous percentage of Americans say President Joe Biden is “too old” to run for a second term as President of the United States. Which caused me to think, “What would I answer if I were asked by a surveyor whether Joe Biden was ‘too old’ to run for president?”

I find I would be likely to answer, “No.”

I do not think there is a chronological age at which a person is “too old” to do something. We develop conditions as we age that may impede our ability to do things effectively. But the impediment is the condition, not the age. I suspect many people answering the surveys about Joe Biden's age were actually answering based on some other characteristic.

In Joe Biden’s case, I would say that his memory and other mental capacities render him unfit to be President of the United States. And that memory and other mental capacities are deteriorating. Rapidly. But it is not his age per se.

As to Joe Biden’s memory and mental capabilities, what we all have seen or read in his public appearances cause many people concern. The recent report of Department of Justice special counsel Robert Hur on Joe Biden's handling of classified documents has highlighted questions about Joe Biden's memory and other mental capabilities.

In the numerous recent commentaries concerning the report, much has been made of Joe Biden’s inability to remember the year of the death of his son Beau. I was actually more bothered by the report that Joe Biden was unable to recall the years in which he was Vice President of the United States.

I can fathom becoming fuzzy on the date of death of a relative, even a child, as time progresses. Subsequent events occupy our brains and shove that death into the background. Often we remember dates of events, even important events, only in conjunction with other events. I remember that my mother died in 2010 in part because it was the same year that our son graduated from college and began active-duty military service. I remember that my father died in 2017 in part because it was the same year our first grandchild was born. I remember that my wife’s parents died in late 2020 and early 2021 mostly because their medical care in the last months of their lives was heavily influenced by California’s Covid rules.

Also I have not made any of those deaths a major feature of speeches over the subsequent years. Joe Biden has made the death of his son Beau the centerpiece of many presentations. If you’re going to make an event the centerpiece of your presentations, I expect you to remember many details of that event, including when it occurred.

But forgetting when you were Vice President of the United States? Becoming Vice President of the United States is a big deal. Very few people throughout history have become Vice President of the United States. Absent very rare circumstances a person becomes Vice President of the United States only in years following years divisible by four. Making it easy to deduce the year even if you don’t remember it exactly. How do you not recall when you were Vice President of the United States?

Joe Biden has not had many jobs during his professional life. So it’s not like he has a lot of job transitions to remember. I also have had very few jobs in my professional life – six professional jobs since I graduated law school in 1981 (including one stint of self-employment). None were as significant as Vice President of the United States, yet I can remember easily the years in which each job transition took place (1985, 1988, 1997, 2000, and 2018). Yet Joe Biden can’t remember when he was Vice President of the United States?!

I had breakfast yesterday with a friend who is 83 and previously worked in banking. He too had trouble with certain dates, and he expressed a desire for a rest after our time together. We discussed several items in the day's Wall Street Journal. In our hour together my friend had more useful commentary than I have heard from the United States President over the last three years.

I have another 83-year-old friend who does not come out in public much, in part because he recognizes that his health and mental capabilities are failing. It’s sad to see, but his failing capabilities are clear to him and to all around him. He is not trying to take on more responsibilities. He is working on reducing his ranching and cattle businesses because of that.

Two men. Same age. But in very different places in memory and mental capacities.

Joe Biden’s memory and mental capacities render him unfit to serve as President of the United States. But it’s not purely an age-based issue. I would be likely in the minority in responses to a question of, “Is Joe Biden ‘too old’ to run for reelection as President of the United States?” But that does not mean that I think he's qualified to be President.