There’s been a lot of chatter since Democrats’ midterm overperformance about whether President Biden should run for re-election, including a diary on the rec list that completely dismisses anyone who may think that Biden should not run for re-election. 2024 is beginning in earnest, so we need to address the elephant in the room that many seem to dismiss as “ageist”: Biden will be 82-86 years old in his 2nd term. As a Millennial this is very concerning to me, and I don’t believe I’m alone among young people who supported Biden last time against the orange fascist. That doesn’t make me an ageist, it makes me a realist.
To preface, I’m a diehard fan of President Biden & I truly believe he will go down in history as one of our best presidents of all time. He has quite literally saved this country (and planet) from the brink with his absolutely gargantuan legislative accomplishments, not only saving us from one of humanity’s deadliest pandemics but providing a framework & massive incentives to onshore & turbocharge the green economy of the future. Thanks to President Biden & Democrats, we will likely be exponentially less vulnerable to geopolitical/energy warfare & supply chain shocks moving forward, while also being in a position to export & scale decarbonization technologies throughout the globe to save us all. He has brought the temperature down at least a bit with a shocking number of bipartisan laws/agreements, which is an important part of restoring the “soul” of the nation like he set out to do. There are countless other extraordinary accomplishments that we would need literally hundreds of diaries to drill into.
With all that said, we cannot enter this primary season with people dismissing concerns about Biden’s age as “ageism”. The reality is summed up nicely in this article (tho I disagree that Vice President Harris “can’t win”; more on that below):
But Biden’s age, as much as some liberal pundits want to hand-wave it away, does matter — mentally and physically, the human body is frailer in its 80s, and Biden’s persistent verbal gaffes are increasingly discomforting, if downplayed in left-leaning media.
Biden very clearly is slower than ever, and it’s not going to improve over the next **6** years. Why are people so quick to downplay that? And why are people so convinced an octogenarian is the only one who can beat the Republican nominee? We have 2 more years of demographic improvements, an unhinged incoming House GOP majority & the fruits of the historically productive 117th Congress being borne over the next 2 years in groundbreakings, etc. Quite a contrast & record for any Dem successor to run on, not just Biden himself.
In my ideal world, Vice President Harris would clear the field to become our first female, black & South Asian president. I believe she has put her head down & done the hard work the past 2 years, growing her own experience, skills & leadership under Biden’s mentorship (regardless of the racist/sexist punditry dismissing her accomplishments). I always thought it was interesting how Biden always explicitly invokes “Biden-Harris Administration” in communications and always ensures she has a seat at the table. It reminds me of Nancy Pelosi & Hakeem Jeffries.
Which brings us to the final point: We need more Nancy Pelosis & fewer Dianne Feinsteins. Speaker Pelosi showed last week how to secure your own historic legacy, while passing the torch & ensuring a smooth and “safe” transition to the next generation of Dem leaders. Do we really want to run the very real risk of President Biden becoming another Dianne Feinstein, who at this point is disgracefully clinging to her Senate seat and tarnishing her own strong legacy? That would break my heart. 2024 is not 2020, so we shouldn’t choose our nominee as if it were.