by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
If Joe Biden secures the Democratic nomination next year, he will have my vote. That said, I still see no reason that Democratic primary voters and party activists should sit idly by and not express opinions in the run up to thee nomination. We are Democrats, after all, an opinionated and often noisy political party, sometimes even raucous, and we don't like to be taken for granted.
So if Joe Biden gets the nomination, something he seems to feel that he is owed, of course I will vote for him - but don't expect me to go quietly into that dark night while he puts his winning coalition together, because I have opinions, too, damn it, and being a good Democrat, I will never shy away from sharing them.
My primary concern with Joe Biden continues to be his age. When the Republican Party selects Donald Trump as its standard bearer next summer, he will be the oldest person ever nominated by a major political party to run for President. Trump will be 74 at the time of his nomination and the election. His age should be a detriment to his efforts to be re-elected - and it should give Democrats an automatic advantage.
If the Democrats nominate Joe Biden, a man who is more than three years older than Trump, the age advantage goes straight out the window.
But age is more than just a number. It is also an indicator of the attitudes and values that are likely to define the candidate. As an example, while young Democratic candidates for President are declining to take campaign donations from lobbyists and corporations, Joe Biden, a man who has had his hand out to lobbyists for literally decades, seems to believe that all donations are good - and appreciated.
Biden is also running a more limited campaign with abbreviated schedules. That might be a conscious effort to limit his opportunities for making gaffes, or it could also be related to the age thing - at 76 he is likely to tire easily.
During the past several days Joe Biden has taken criticism for what were seen by some as fond remembrances of a couple of old-style segregationists whom he worked with in the Senate. And then he spoke at a Planned Parenthood event designed to increase abortion access - and though he spoke at length in the Biden style, he never once uttered the word "abortion." Joe Biden, it would seem, is having trouble becoming fully aligned with his party's modern stance on a woman's right to control her own body.
Another incident where he was shown to be rooted in a different time was when he suggested to a little girl and a campaign event in North Carolina that her brothers should always stand ready to protect her - a pronouncement that did not play well among Democratic Party feminists.
And then there is also that entire "Creepy Uncle Joe" thing where a bunch women came forward to comment on his overt physicality with them and how it made them feel uncomfortable. That is one more instance where Democrats would be putting up a candidate who has uncomfortable similarities to Donald Trump.
Joe Biden might have made a semi-stellar presidential candidate - in about 1988 - but his time has definitely passed. This year the Democratic Party has an outstanding field of younger and more dynamic candidates, people who would offer brilliant contrasts to Donald Trump. The Democrats should choose one of those young dynamos and give Trump a real race.
And Joe Biden should head out to pasture and enjoy his retirement.
Citizen Journalist
If Joe Biden secures the Democratic nomination next year, he will have my vote. That said, I still see no reason that Democratic primary voters and party activists should sit idly by and not express opinions in the run up to thee nomination. We are Democrats, after all, an opinionated and often noisy political party, sometimes even raucous, and we don't like to be taken for granted.
So if Joe Biden gets the nomination, something he seems to feel that he is owed, of course I will vote for him - but don't expect me to go quietly into that dark night while he puts his winning coalition together, because I have opinions, too, damn it, and being a good Democrat, I will never shy away from sharing them.
My primary concern with Joe Biden continues to be his age. When the Republican Party selects Donald Trump as its standard bearer next summer, he will be the oldest person ever nominated by a major political party to run for President. Trump will be 74 at the time of his nomination and the election. His age should be a detriment to his efforts to be re-elected - and it should give Democrats an automatic advantage.
If the Democrats nominate Joe Biden, a man who is more than three years older than Trump, the age advantage goes straight out the window.
But age is more than just a number. It is also an indicator of the attitudes and values that are likely to define the candidate. As an example, while young Democratic candidates for President are declining to take campaign donations from lobbyists and corporations, Joe Biden, a man who has had his hand out to lobbyists for literally decades, seems to believe that all donations are good - and appreciated.
Biden is also running a more limited campaign with abbreviated schedules. That might be a conscious effort to limit his opportunities for making gaffes, or it could also be related to the age thing - at 76 he is likely to tire easily.
During the past several days Joe Biden has taken criticism for what were seen by some as fond remembrances of a couple of old-style segregationists whom he worked with in the Senate. And then he spoke at a Planned Parenthood event designed to increase abortion access - and though he spoke at length in the Biden style, he never once uttered the word "abortion." Joe Biden, it would seem, is having trouble becoming fully aligned with his party's modern stance on a woman's right to control her own body.
Another incident where he was shown to be rooted in a different time was when he suggested to a little girl and a campaign event in North Carolina that her brothers should always stand ready to protect her - a pronouncement that did not play well among Democratic Party feminists.
And then there is also that entire "Creepy Uncle Joe" thing where a bunch women came forward to comment on his overt physicality with them and how it made them feel uncomfortable. That is one more instance where Democrats would be putting up a candidate who has uncomfortable similarities to Donald Trump.
Joe Biden might have made a semi-stellar presidential candidate - in about 1988 - but his time has definitely passed. This year the Democratic Party has an outstanding field of younger and more dynamic candidates, people who would offer brilliant contrasts to Donald Trump. The Democrats should choose one of those young dynamos and give Trump a real race.
And Joe Biden should head out to pasture and enjoy his retirement.
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