I've been thinking about this article a lot. I think you hit the nail on the head -- that Biden and his team are displaying a shocking level of arrogance about the age issue, and it's extremely frustrating. I have two thoughts that color things in a little more for me:
1. I think Biden really internalized being passed over in 2016 for Cli…
I've been thinking about this article a lot. I think you hit the nail on the head -- that Biden and his team are displaying a shocking level of arrogance about the age issue, and it's extremely frustrating. I have two thoughts that color things in a little more for me:
1. I think Biden really internalized being passed over in 2016 for Clinton. Even if his instincts are wrong today, it's very understandable for him to question the judgment of many of the same people who counted him out then and see them giving him the same treatment today. After all, in 2016 and 2020, Biden was *right* to be confident in his chance. I don't think it justifies things now, but I think that humanizes his justifications a little bit.
2. The issue of Biden's age runs the risk of exposing the rot of gerontocracy in our elected leaders more generally. If Pelosi and Shumer and other senior democrats turn on Biden for his age, they risk exposing themselves as hypocrites. Further, I think the age of senior Democrats could turn into a real liability going forward as this issue gains traction, and their exposure will only increase going forward. The narrative is really bad: "democrats are old, slow, and unable to respond to today's issues." This is clearly already an issue with the senate, where it sure looks like leadership is too myopic to forcefully fight against the myriad forces of authoritarianism. If Biden stays in now, these problems only get worse from here.
I've been thinking about this article a lot. I think you hit the nail on the head -- that Biden and his team are displaying a shocking level of arrogance about the age issue, and it's extremely frustrating. I have two thoughts that color things in a little more for me:
1. I think Biden really internalized being passed over in 2016 for Clinton. Even if his instincts are wrong today, it's very understandable for him to question the judgment of many of the same people who counted him out then and see them giving him the same treatment today. After all, in 2016 and 2020, Biden was *right* to be confident in his chance. I don't think it justifies things now, but I think that humanizes his justifications a little bit.
2. The issue of Biden's age runs the risk of exposing the rot of gerontocracy in our elected leaders more generally. If Pelosi and Shumer and other senior democrats turn on Biden for his age, they risk exposing themselves as hypocrites. Further, I think the age of senior Democrats could turn into a real liability going forward as this issue gains traction, and their exposure will only increase going forward. The narrative is really bad: "democrats are old, slow, and unable to respond to today's issues." This is clearly already an issue with the senate, where it sure looks like leadership is too myopic to forcefully fight against the myriad forces of authoritarianism. If Biden stays in now, these problems only get worse from here.