Biden does not have dementia. Trump probably does not, either. In a second term Biden will be surrounded by an excellent team; Trump will be surrounded by toadies whose only goals are to please him. Bottom line – Biden is more fit than Trump.
COUNT ME AMONG those who wish we had two candidates younger than either President Joe Biden or Donald Trump come Nov. 5, 2024.
But we don’t and we won’t unless one or both drop dead before this summer’s nominating conventions, or Trump is convicted and what is left of the Republican Party dumps him. Neither scenario is likely.
So, we are left with a candidate who is 81 and one who is 77, my age.
First, let’s deal with one of the uglier insinuations about the candidates, that one or both has dementia.
Dementia has struck our family. I am around it daily. Each day I see probably 20 people in various stages of dementia. Joe Biden does not have dementia. I could say Trump shows signs of early onset, but since I am not a doctor, I won’t. I firmly believe, though, that one could cite other forms of mental illness to explain his rants, lapses and overall lack of social grace.
If we take dementia off the table, what to make of Biden’s fitness to serve based on age?
There is no question people change with age. I have. Over the years I have had several surgeries, most linked to sports and other injuries and some to joint and bone issues. Now, at 77, I do feel a bit more tentative than I did in my dare-devil days. I don’t hike sheer mountain trails because of mild vertigo. With two hip replacements, I move more slowly.
Still, I do go to the gym most days and three times a week strive for four miles on an elliptical trainer and three miles on a tread, followed by weights.
My mind? No question I forget more things than I used to, but I eventually recall them and often they are not important things.
Joe Biden shows signs of physical aging, as all of us do at a certain point.; however, he exercises regularly and I wish I could be at this weight. Trump never exercises and lives on well-done cheeseburgers and fries and burnt steaks buried in ketchup.
Biden also still deals with a serious stuttering issue that he has had since childhood. He learned years ago how to keep the stutters at bay, but it takes effort. I have no doubt that a lot of his pauses and slowness of speech come from the effort to control the stuttering. That impacts him most visibly in public speaking. Those who meet with him one on one, or in small groups, don’t report that sort of issue.
AGAIN, I COME back to my own experience. Yes, I am 77. Yes, my body is not what it once was when I ran several miles most days, played league softball and basketball and took eight-mile hikes in the mountains and deserts, worked in national parks building and repairing trails, restoring grasslands. And yes, I sometimes forget things.
Can I work? Yes. I write daily in some fashion. Were I to go back to the public speaking, consulting and travel of my consulting career I could do everything I used to do and, pardon my ego, do it at a pretty high level. Have I lost a step? Of course, but not enough to disqualify me from doing work.
I am not Joe Biden, obviously. I don’t have his pressure-cooker job. I also don’t have a staff, and this is important. A president is surrounded by people. In Biden’s case they are competent people. His staff turn-over is nil compared with Trump’s revolving door. We know already what kind of people Trump would surround himself with in a second term. A president does not work alone. With Biden that is reassuring; with Trump it is terrifying.
Biden also has the best medical care in the United States. He has a doctor at hand. As a part of the White House Medical Unit (Who that doctor is, though, matters given that Trump’s off-the-rails doctor in 2018 r said he was one of the healthiest people he’d ever seen!) A president also has a high level of emergency care even at 36,000 feet on Air Force One.
WHAT IS GOING to be critical in this election, given the ages of Biden and Trump, will be the vice-presidential candidates. Republicans are making a big deal about Kamala Harris. They don’t like her. They are screaming that a vote for Biden, who they are sure will die in office, means a “President Harris.”
We already have had a glimpse and Trump’s possible Veep choices – sycophants all who go along with election denial, consider Jan. 6, 2021 to have been no more than a rowdy tourist gathering and who don’t feel Russia is a threat.
So, while I’d prefer younger candidates and really wish my generation would hand things off to younger folks and become the wise old storytellers and counselors, I will vote for Joe Biden with no hesitation. And, if Biden passes or becomes incapacitated, I can accept President Harris. There really is no alternative if we care about democracy and common decency.
But next time, let’s go younger!
Rich Heiland, has been a reporter, editor, publisher/general manager at daily papers in Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio and New Hampshire. He was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team at the Xenia Daily (OH) Daily Gazette, a National Newspaper Association Columnist of the Year, and a recipient of the Molly Ivins First Amendment Award from the Walker County (TX) Democrat Club. He taught journalism at Western Illinois University and leadership and community development at Woodbury College in Vermont. Since 1995 he has operated an international consulting, public speaking and training business specializing in customer service, general management, leadership and staff development with major corporations, organizations, and government. Semi-retired, he and his wife live in West Chester, PA. He can be reached at heilandrich1@gmail.com.