Biden Is 80. So What?

President Joe Biden will be a strong candidate in 2024.

A personal note: I am 80. I am still mentally sharp (at least I think so) and physically active. But, like all octogenarians, I have slowed down a bit.

Which brings me to a discussion of a fellow octogenarian: President Joe Biden. I confess that I have at times written that Biden is too old for the job. (Not the least reason being that I cannot see myself running for and serving as president at my age.) Even now, I have at times wondered whether the president should step aside and not seek reelection. After all, Biden will be closer to 90 than 80 if he serves a full eight years as president. And, while actuarial tables show that an 80-year-old can expect to live almost 8.5 years more, that is just an average. Besides, especially in this case, it is quality of life that matters more than quantity.

All that said, I now think — wholeheartedly — that Biden should run again. Why? Two reasons. First, he is doing a good job. Second, he can win.

The second reason first. Biden is a proven winner. Former President Donald Trump may be the Republican Party nominee in 2024, and Biden handily beat him in 2020. At 80, Biden is secure in himself and not likely to be rattled by Trump’s insults and nastiness. Age has softened some of Biden’s edges. He appears more focused these days. He certainly is less long-winded than he was when he sat in the Senate. I remember covering Biden when I worked for CNN. In Senate committees, where senators get five minutes for a Q and A with witnesses, Biden would take 4:55 seconds of his allotted time, leaving the witness barely able to say yes or no. (In fairness, long-windedness is an occupational hazard for politicians in general and senators in particular. But, Biden raised it to an art form.)

Biden has always been gaffe-prone, but the older he gets the more likely people are to shrug it off with, “Oh, well, that’s just Joe.” He still occasionally stutters, but most people are more understanding of such difficulties these days than when Biden entered politics more than a half century ago. Most of the traits that once seemed liabilities no longer are a danger for Biden.

Biden can win also because the Republican Party seems to have a death wish. Almost everyone recognizes that the party’s doubling down on Trump’s repeated lies about the alleged stolen 2020 election and his pushing the party to nominate candidates, especially for the Senate, who could not win in the general election hurt Republicans last November. So, what has the Republican Party done to correct those flaws? It installed a far-right election-denying whackadoodle to head the Republican Party in Michigan, a key battleground state. (Trump actually backed another election-denying candidate, making the winner, Kristina Karamo, even nuttier than the former president. As I have said before, there is no bottom for the Republican Party.)

It may be early in the run up to the 2024 presidential election, but, as of now, polls give Trump a comfortable double-digit lead over his nearest competitor, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Every other mentioned contender is mired in single digits at this stage. Trump clearly has a solid base of support within the Republican Party, and, in a crowded field, Trump’s competitors likely will not be able to fix on a single rival, allowing the former president to coast through the primaries with only pluralities in each state, as he did in 2016.

Remember, Trump is a terrible candidate. The only general election he ever won was the presidency in 2016, and that was without winning the popular vote. While he was president, Republicans lost the House in 2018 and the Senate and presidency in 2020. With Trump as the most prominent Republican, the party lost the Senate again last November while barely eking out a majority in the House in what was supposed to be the year of the “red wave.” (Of course, all of the above applies no matter who the Democrats nominate in 2024.) If the Republicans nominate anyone besides Trump, Biden will be adept at portraying that candidate as a Trump acolyte.

And, let us not forget the damage the slender Republican majority in the House can do between now and and November 2024. Fortunately, the Republican-controlled House cannot usher any of its nonsensical proposals into law, since none would pass the Democratic Senate or get President Biden’s signature. But, the incessant investigations while ignoring the nation’s real problems and the waltz over sending the national and, perhaps, international economies into free fall by potentially not raising the debt ceiling will not sit well with key voting blocs.

As for the first reason why Biden should run again: He is doing a good job. As the incumbent, he will have an advantage he did not have in 2020: A record on which to run. I say that fully recognizing that Biden’s approval ratings have been mired in the low 40 percent range for most of his tenure in the White House. The White House is betting that, as The New York Times put it, “competent beats crazy.”

Part of that record is the unexpected strong showing the Democratic Party made in the 2022 midterms, defying the traditional debacle the president’s party usually suffers in midterm elections. Democrats held on to the Senate and cut their losses in the House. Democrats won key races — for governor, secretary of state, and attorney general — in a number of states that are likely to be closely contested in 2024. Biden also delivered a widely praised State of the Union Address earlier this month. Biden appeared to enjoy jousting with his Republican adversaries, and he trapped Republicans into agreeing not to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits.

On the campaign trail, Biden can point to record low unemployment, rising wages, a lessening fear of an impending recession, and an easing of inflation. Then, there is a legislative record of which Biden can be justly proud: The COVID-19 relief package, the bipartisan infrastructure law, and the climate-and-health bill.  On Biden’s watch, Congress passed the CHIPS Act to boost domestic production of semiconductors, provided substantial military aid for Ukraine, and reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act. Biden took executive action to forgive student loans. And, his clever baiting of Republicans during the State of the Union speech has taken Social Security and Medicare off the chopping block in budget negotiations with House Republicans. Biden surely will trumpet that accomplishment on the campaign trail.

Biden has succeeded in uniting the Democratic Party’s wings. He successfully has appealed to centrist Democrats while not driving the party’s progressives away. Many positions in his administration are staffed by members of the Democratic left-wing.

Biden is expected to announce his reelection bid soon. He may be 80, but so what?

Posted February 21, 2023