Is Joe Biden too old to be running for a second term? Some think so — 81 is a big number, with 85 looming 4 years later. But they might be wrong.
As a physician, I look at risk factors. Being old is just another factor, like being heavy risks diabetes, and sunbathing risks melanoma.
What are the risks of being old? There is a dreadful stereotype of an “old man”: He dodders with a frail body, weak memory, depleted energy and compromised reasoning ability. He lives in the past and looks liable to collapse at any time. Let’s call that Type I, toxic old age. It’s a risk of old age, but it’s not inevitable.
There is another type of old age — let’s call it Type II, wise old age. This older person might be a seasoned leader who has learned to resist impulses, whose judgment weighs alternatives and consequences, whose experience enables him to make government work, who knows people throughout the world, whose years have earned him wisdom. Think “greatness of spirit” rather than “old and broken.” Think secure, clever and wise. As Ronald Reagan put it in 1984, “It might have been Cicero who said, ‘If it were not for the elders correcting the mistakes of the young, we would have no state.’” Especially in our age of modern medicine, it is increasingly likely for an 80 year old to be this Type II.
Which type is Biden? His stiff walking posture probably betrays some spinal arthritis, which does not interfere with the mental part of the job. In fact, his presidency has been the most productive since LBJ, his schedule is more rigorous than George W. Bush’s ever was, he travels extensively and meets all over the world. It’s true that he stumbles over words sometimes, but that is nothing new for someone with a history of stuttering. All of the medical information we appear to have on Biden points to healthy aging. Biden seems to be Type II, someone who has grown wise with age.
It’s natural to worry about illness hitting an older person. But disaster can come at any age — recall the unexpected assassination of the vigorous JFK. After Kennedy’s death, the 25th Amendment was ratified, providing procedures for continuity, even with a presidential disability or death. It’s not perfect, but the framework is in place for many presidential emergencies. Older Presidents might trigger those procedures, but so might younger ones.
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Moreover, is it sensible to center our concern on Biden’s age, above all other considerations? Think of everything that can go wrong when you hire someone. There is alcoholism, depression, narcissism, anxiety, sleep deprivation, delusions, sociopathy, corruption, and chronic anger. Indeed, a candidate might be quite literally crazy. There is lack of good intelligence, bad work habits, laziness, dishonesty, lying, hidden economic ties to foreign powers, or prejudice. What about the ability to think through problems, to lead and build a talented team? What about breadth of knowledge, a tendency to make a country more peaceful rather than more contentious, knowledge of government operations, executive experience and ability? None of these negative or positive traits are highly correlated with age, so why focus on age above all else?
Yes, Biden is pushing the age envelope, but like a well-worn shoe, Biden is a known quantity who has proven reliable and effective, even surprisingly so. Yes, we should judge the man by abilities, accomplishments, vision, character and history. But we should assess his fitness for re-election, recognizing that he is a Type II older person who has gained wisdom, not a withered Type I.
The odds are, Biden will still be driving his Corvette and rocking his aviators when the next President is sworn in, in January 2029.
Dr. Budd Shenkin is a physician in the East Bay, and a graduate of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, where he is a member of the board of advisers.
