The Ages of the U.S. Congress: Joe Biden, the Phenomenology of the First White House, and the Status of the Senate

The party needs to show support for him in the election. But even as we put our faith in Mr. Biden, the questions about his age and physical condition will not go away, and it’s fair for voters to want reassurances and decisions that show the White House will be in solid hands. He should take steps to make those reassurances, but he, Vice President Kamala Harris and the rest of the party should also consider making some bold decisions to address these actuarial concerns and show they are being taken seriously.

Republicans have been trying to make Joe Biden look like he’s too old to be president and mentally deficient for a long time. The Democrats don’t like it when they become aware that he is too old to run again.

Donald Trump will also, if he wins and serves out a second term, turn 82, and you could view the final days of the first Trump White House through this prism. Nearly a quarter of the Congress was over 70 last year, Insider found, up from 8 percent in 2002. Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican and Iowa’s senior senator, won re-election at age 89 last fall. Two of the most powerful and defining congressional leaders of most of our lives — Mitch McConnell and Ms. Pelosi — are in their 80s, and until the recent hockey line change in House leadership, much of the Democratic congressional leadership was over 70. The Treasury secretary is 76. The ideological balance of the court has changed over the past decade due to the death of two Supreme Court justices.

Jill Biden: What the heck is going on in his campaign for reelection in 2024, when he meets with the president

During an extensive sit-down with CNN, Jill Biden said she is “all for” her husband running for reelection in 2024. Should his wife decide against a run, she left an opening for him.

The president said in an interview with ABC that he had to call his wife to find out if he was running. He stated that his intention has always been to run. There are a lot of things that need to be finished in the near term before I start a campaign.

Jill Biden told CNN that the president’s surprise trip to Ukraine last week and domestic issues have kept him busy in recent days, adding that “nothing’s been planned as yet.”

There are a lot of 30-year-olds on the train to Poland. Go nine more hours, go to Ukraine, meet with President (Volodymyr) Zelensky?” she said. Look at the man. Look what he’s doing. Look what he continues to do each and every day.”

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/27/politics/jill-joe-biden-reelection-2024/index.html

The First Lady Disturbanced by Republican Presidential Candidate Haley’s “Minimal Competency Test” Proposal

She wouldn’t confirm that a decision has been made on a 2020 run, but she was not frustrated by the ” will he or wont he” speculation.

Focusing attention on the issue of succession — and spotlighting the strength of the Democratic bench in the process — would be one of the smartest, most persuasive ways of dealing with this dilemma. Franklin D. Roosevelt did something similar when it came to deciding who would be his running mate. He expressed a preference for certain candidates but turned the choice of his running mate over to the delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

First lady Biden dismissed the suggestion by Republican presidential candidate Haley for politicians to take a mental competency test if they were older than 75.

“Ridiculous,” the first lady said, responding to Haley’s proposal during an interview with CNN, which will air as part of “CNN Primetime: Jill Biden Abroad” at 9 p.m. ET on Monday.

When Haley announced her candidacy for President last month, she put forth the proposal. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, slammed the proposal as “absurd” and ageist.

“We are fighting racism. We are fighting sexism. We’re fighting homophobia. I believe we should fight ageism as well. Trust people, look at people, and say, ‘You know, this person is competent. This person is not competent. There are a lot of 40-year-olds out there who ain’t particularly competent,” Sanders said in an interview with CBS News last month.