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Bernie says what I want to hear, and he says it well. So do all the other Democratic hopefuls I've heard albeit in different ways with different emphasis. He's said it for the longest time, but unlike some friends and people I've heard who lean toward supporting him, I don't give him "credits" for that because that is a kind of reverse agism. It discounts a younger generation. One's former positions are also used by some Democrats against people like Elizabeth Warren (former Republican) and Kamala Harris (hardline prosecutor) as some kind of purity test comparing them to Bernie who has been a social democrat or socialist since entering politics.
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Both Bernie and Biden have shown a few indications that they are slower to actually catch on to the changes in social mores and institutions. Biden most recently with his awkward attempt to apologise for the physicality that has made some women uncomfortable, and Bernie during the 2016 campaign for what I perceived was a failure to grasp the passion and legitimacy of the Black Lives Matter movement. I remember well how poorly he handled the two back women who came to the podium and wanted to speak.
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...there comes a time in life when true wisdom is demonstrated by an admission to oneself that their time for certain things has past.
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I wish Bernie would find another younger Democrat to pass the baton to. I think this would show grace and class. I think both Bernie and Biden are cling to an "it's finally my time" notion when in fact there comes a time in life when true wisdom is demonstrated by an admission to oneself that their time for certain things has past.
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The question of age is something to consider. Aside from the fact that the Washington Post has kept this OpEd (
Can a president be too old? Research says septuagenarians can struggle with new tasks. That's bad news for several 2020 candidates) on the main page since April 9th - a long time fo them - it makes one indisputable point:
Per the insurers’ tables, a President-elect Biden in 2020 would have a 26 percent chance of dying within the next five years; Sanders in 2020 would face a 29 percent chance of dying within five years; for Trump, it would be about a 20 percent chance of death before 2025.
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Otherwise as we all know from living here (and from ourselves) many being 80 and older doesn't mean our mental faculties are impaired. Whether or not all of us are wiser now than we were when we were 50 remains to be seen, whether Bernie and Biden are we will have to decide as they get more exposure in the coming months.
Sunday, Apr 14, 2019 · 2:42:37 PM +00:00 · HalBrown
The 3:00 AM call test
I know that if my phone rings at 3:00 AM I am not prepared to be hustled off to the the White House situation room to make a life and death decision. I once was able to think clearly at such times. Before our tri-country mental health program had a 24 hour emergency service I was on-call once a month with a beeper. When that beeper went off I was sometimes in a deep sleep. I had to call the hospital emergency room immediately. If I couldn’t handle a mental health emergency on the phone I had to drive a half hour to the hospital to see the patient. I want a president to be as capable of making decisions at 3:00 AM as I was in my younger days.
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The poll should read fully “Do you think Bernie and Biden should endorse a younger Democrat at some point (not necessarily now) assuming polls don't show they are clearly the best candidate to beat Trump?”