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On Biden’s Chances

oscar
3 min readJan 8, 2024

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Photo by David Everett Strickler on Unsplash

In an article published on 1/6/24, The Economist put out the following,
‘The Man Supposed to Beat Donald Trump is An Unpopular 81 year old.’
And the subheading read ‘In failing to look past Joe Biden, Democrats have shown cowardice and complacency’.
Lamentably, you underestimate Biden’s performance as president.
He has done a good job. Inflation is coming down, unemployment remains low, Covid was addressed properly, Ukraine has got the backing it deserves with more is on the way.
Could it have been better? Yes. The matter of immigration, for instance, has not been addressed decisively.
At some point you mentioned that everyone knows an 81 year old and knows of their diminishing powers. Sure. But that does not mean that Biden won’t perform well. Neither does it mean that if cognitive impairments appear, we will not replace him.
There has been a lively debate in our land about Biden’s candidacy. And gradually, the president has persuaded most that he is viable and desirable as a candidate.
Is there a hint of ageism in your position? Yes.
You speak of gerontocracy in the democratic party, and add in support that vice-president Harris, at 60, is considered youthful. She is. That may or may not translate into capability as president, but she is youthful.
You may be right that Biden’s support team has been a strong advocate of his running again. So what? That doesn’t take away from his merits.
Mind, you, it did bother me that Defense…

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