America a gerentocracy.

[Goonie]

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The refusal of aging politicians to retire is having serious ramifications for everyone.

 

[d taylor]

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Refusing to retire, if american voters are stupid enough to reelect them again and again and again, the american people deserve the government they put in place.

 

[Fantine]

Use your discernment, please. We will have important choices to make in 2024--and while age is a definite factor, it is by no means the most important.

In 2024, I will look for the candidate who is a champion of democracy, a man/woman of integrity, who has his/her priorities straight and who has a strong, principled team of cabinet members with the expertise to assist him/her in leading the country.

With the dangers of authoritarianism and totalitarianism looming in many states (including my own, Arkansas), championing democracy and rejecting the lure of big money with big demands and expectations is most important of all.

 

[JSRG]

In 2024, I will look for the candidate who is a champion of democracy, a man/woman of integrity, who has his/her priorities straight and who has a strong, principled team of cabinet members with the expertise to assist him/her in leading the country.

Sadly, I feel neither of the current frontrunners (Trump or Biden) fit that description.

 

[Hans Blaster]

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The refusal of aging politicians to retire is having serious ramifications for everyone.

Why should I care what the British think? There new leader inherited his job in his 70s.

 

[Goonie]

Why should I care what the British think? There new leader inherited his job in his 70s.

Took me a moment to realise you meant Charles. You are not comparing like with like, as it is Sunak who wields executive power not the king.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Took me a moment to realise you meant Charles. You are not comparing like with like, as it is Sunak who wields executive power not the king.

You'd hardly know that if you went to front page of that newspaper.

All kinds of stories about "royals" and just one tiny item looking back at the head of lettuce that was PM when Chuckles finally got what he wanted.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

Took me a moment to realise you meant Charles. You are not comparing like with like, as it is Sunak who wields executive power not the king.

"Strange women on thrones distributing crowns is no basis for a system of government! Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not some farcical terrestrial ceremony!"

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

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Refusing to retire, if american voters are stupid enough to reelect them again and again and again, the american people deserve the government they put in place.

I agree and very few on wither side who inspire.

 

[RDKirk]

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The refusal of aging politicians to retire is having serious ramifications for everyone.

I'm 70, and I approve this message.

We have Silent Generation people still running the government.

 

[RDKirk]

Use your discernment, please. We will have important choices to make in 2024--and while age is a definite factor, it is by no means the most important.

In 2024, I will look for the candidate who is a champion of democracy, a man/woman of integrity, who has his/her priorities straight and who has a strong, principled team of cabinet members with the expertise to assist him/her in leading the country.

With the dangers of authoritarianism and totalitarianism looming in many states (including my own, Arkansas), championing democracy and rejecting the lure of big money with big demands and expectations is most important of all.

Age is definitely a factor. No octogenarian is going to manage effectively as Chief Executive of the United States. He may be sitting in the Oval Office, but won't be running the government. Unelected staff will be running the government.

And whatever octogenarian input they have will be antiquated and unadaptable to the rapid changes overtaking the nation.

 

[mark46]

I agree and very few on wither side who inspire.

The bar is NOT who inspires.

The bar is who will support democracy.

I would be OK with anyone winning but Trump and anyone who would follow his orders.

 

[mark46]

Age is definitely a factor. No octogenarian is going to manage effectively as Chief Executive of the United States. He may be sitting in the Oval Office, but won't be running the government. Unelected staff will be running the government.

And whatever octogenarian input they have will be antiquated and unadaptable to the rapid changes overtaking the nation.

Reagan slept through lots of meetings and seemed to be "running" the government. The key involves lots of delegation, and reserving energy for the time of considering important decisions (especially foreign policy and military decisions).

Would I really want to have Harris as president because she's younger? Should Biden really win and then step down? Of course NOT.
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Is it really AGE that is preventing Biden from dealing with the issue (the border and immigration) that may very well end his presidency. Of course not.
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Let's be real. There was only one reason Biden was nominated in 2020, after the attempted draft in 2016. There is only one reason that the Democratic left continues to support Biden. There is only ONE reason that Biden is running in 2024. That reason is to protect our democratic institutions.

IMO, if Trump weren't running, Biden would have stepped down long ago, while understanding that his party would almost assuredly lose with whoever the Democratic left nominated.

 

[RDKirk]

Reagan slept through lots of meetings and seemed to be "running" the government. The key involves lots of delegation, and reserving energy for the time of considering important decisions (especially foreign policy and military decisions).

Delegation, yeah. Back in 1990, while I attended the Defense Intelligence College, we had a little old lady speak to our class one day. She was retiring from long service in the CIA. She looked kind of like Betty White. She had been one of William J. (“Wild Bill”) Donovan's original OSS agents during WWII and was an operative of the CIA from its foundation. She had been a CIA Station Chief in a certain country during the early days of the Cold War...and to know which country was to know she'd been deeply involved in the undercover war between the US and the USSR. I don't know if there was ever a real "James Bond," but she had definitely been the real "Felix Leiter." We sat there in stunned awe of that old lady.

There were still operations she was "not at liberty" to talk about even to us, but she had some interesting stories, such as being in the room when Kennedy decided not to support the Bay of Pigs operation. Most interesting was her insider opinion of various presidents and CIA directors over the years. The CIA had despised Carter and Stansfield Turner, but they'd loved George Bush and Ronald Reagan (actually, Reagan had been a great guy to work for, much better than Carter as a boss, even in my opinion, although I preferred Carter's politics to Reagan's).

But very interesting was her revelation that in Reagan's second term, because of his failing mental capacity (which was still generally unknown at the time). the CIA had stopped regularly briefing him or going to him for instruction. They took everything to Bush, who provided the "Executive Officer" direction required by law.

Would I really want to have Harris as president because she's younger? Should Biden really win and then step down? Of course NOT.
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Biden had been my last choice for a Democrat candidate. Harris had been my next-to-last choice.

Is it really AGE that is preventing Biden from dealing with the issue (the border and immigration) that may very well end his presidency. Of course not.
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Let's be real. There was only one reason Biden was nominated in 2020, after the attempted draft in 2016. There is only one reason that the Democratic left continues to support Biden. There is only ONE reason that Biden is running in 2024. That reason is to protect our democratic institutions.

That was my only reason. My great fear was that Trump's intention was to break each branch of government for his own purposes. I don't think that's the reason of the left-wing extremists insiders running the DNC, though. They have an agenda that isn't my agenda or the agenda of most Americans.

IMO, if Trump weren't running, Biden would have stepped down long ago, while understanding that his party would almost assuredly lose with whoever the Democratic left nominated.

If Trump weren't running, I'd be hard-pressed not to vote for any other Republican, although DeSantis would give me great pause. But I don't think DeSantis would destroy the government, so we'd recover from his presidency.

 

[mark46]

Delegation, yeah. Back in 1990, while I attended the Defense Intelligence College, we had a little old lady speak to our class one day. She was retiring from long service in the CIA. She looked kind of like Betty White. She had been one of William J. (“Wild Bill”) Donovan's original OSS agents during WWII and was an operative of the CIA from its foundation. She had been a CIA Station Chief in a certain country during the early days of the Cold War...and to know which country was to know she'd been deeply involved in the undercover war between the US and the USSR. I don't know if there was ever a real "James Bond," but she had definitely been the real "Felix Leiter." We sat there in stunned awe of that old lady.

There were still operations she was "not at liberty" to talk about even to us, but she had some interesting stories, such as being in the room when Kennedy decided not to support the Bay of Pigs operation. Most interesting was her insider opinion of various presidents and CIA directors over the years. The CIA had despised Carter and Stansfield Turner, but they'd loved George Bush and Ronald Reagan (actually, Reagan had been a great guy to work for, much better than Carter as a boss, even in my opinion, although I preferred Carter's politics to Reagan's).

But very interesting was her revelation that in Reagan's second term, because of his failing mental capacity (which was still generally unknown at the time). the CIA had stopped regularly briefing him or going to him for instruction. They took everything to Bush, who provided the "Executive Officer" direction required by law.


Biden had been my last choice for a Democrat candidate. Harris had been my next-to-last choice.



That was my only reason. My great fear was that Trump's intention was to break each branch of government for his own purposes. I don't think that's the reason of the left-wing extremists insiders running the DNC, though. They have an agenda that isn't my agenda or the agenda of most Americans.


If Trump weren't running, I'd be hard-pressed not to vote for any other Republican, although DeSantis would give me great pause. But I don't think DeSantis would destroy the government, so we'd recover from his presidency.

Sure, there were issues with Reagan in his second term. HOWEVER, Bush was NOT an unelected nobody. The country was in very good hands with Bush being in the decision-making process. In fact, I think that Bush was part of the reason that the voters were fine re-electing Reagan, even if he had medical issue.

We disagree on Biden. IMO, there are lots of worse choices that the left could nominate. We do agree that Harris is worst choice not named Biden. My personal view is that Biden is a fine president, someone who should have been able to retire from politics before the 2016 election.
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THE CHOICE IF TRUMP WEREN'T RUNNING
1) I suspect that almost any of the Republican choices would be a better choice than almost any possible Democratic candidate.
2) I believe that almost of the possible non-Trump candidates would beat Biden or any other Democrat.
3) I agree that the possible outlier is DeSantis. He is a terrible choice, and the country might be better with a Democrat like Newsome. Of course, no one to the right of Sanders could be nominated (other than Biden). I agree that DeSantis would not destroy the government and that we would recover. The only issue for me is that DeSantis may be so weak that he might allow Trump to have influence on his presidency.

 

[RDKirk]

Sure, there were issues with Reagan in his second term. HOWEVER, Bush was NOT an unelected nobody. The country was in very good hands with Bush being in the decision-making process. In fact, I think that Bush was part of the reason that the voters were fine re-electing Reagan, even if he had medical issue.

[/QUOTE]

And Bush was definitely running the GOP. The DNC is clearly not going to run anyone they can't fully control. They've shown that. So we have to look at that cabal and decide if we really want what they want...and I'm not seeing that.

We disagree on Biden. IMO, there are lots of worse choices that the left could nominate. We do agree that Harris is worst choice not named Biden. My personal view is that Biden is a fine president, someone who should have been able to retire from politics before the 2016 election.

What makes him a bad choice is that he isn't the head of the party, he's the figurehead of the party....and the party is 'way farther left than most of the Democrat voters.

 

[mark46]

And Bush was definitely running the GOP. The DNC is clearly not going to run anyone they can't fully control. They've shown that. So we have to look at that cabal and decide if we really want what they want...and I'm not seeing that.



What makes him a bad choice is that he isn't the head of the party, he's the figurehead of the party....and the party is 'way farther left than most of the Democrat voters.
[/QUOTE]

Aah

1) The DNC is far to the left of Biden and of Democratic voters.

2) Democratic senators and House members are far to the left of Biden.

3) Democratic voters are far to the left of Biden.

4) Biden and his views reflect a small minority of Democratic voters. The open question is whether Sanders is left of center. IMO, the majority supported Sanders and his views in 2016 and in 2020. Thae party will greatly change after the 2024 election, when the left of the party is unleashed.

5) "the party is far to the left than most of Democratic voters". The party is always further from the center than the average voter. This time, I am not at all sure. In any case, I see the left getting to nominate one of their own in 2028, and lose a landslide. I don't see how the left can be denied yet again.

.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Sadly, I feel neither of the current frontrunners (Trump or Biden) fit that description.

This I agree with. While I obviously wouldn't vote for Trump, because I'm not shy about my dislike of Trump. I really, really, really, really, really don't want Biden to run for a second term.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ViaCrucis]

.and the party is 'way farther left than most of the Democrat voters.

I'm not sure I agree with that. I'd consider myself much further left of the Democratic Party--I consider the Democratic Party as overall centrist, with some in the party center-right, and a smaller number center-left. And there are some in the party who are left. But on the whole, the party is, arguably, further right than most Democratic voters. Though that could also be generational. I would imagine older voters are, on the whole, more center-left than the younger generation.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Fantine]

I think the age problem would be defused if voters liked and trusted his VP.

They don't. I don't understand why. I think its a combination of smear campaigns, sexism, and racism.

But if Biden replaced her with someone who wasn't black and female there could be an uproar.

TBT, Biden has appointed a very diverse cabinet, judiciary, etc. The Supreme Court Justice he appointed is the most experienced and qualified of the nine (there have been side by side comparisons.)

I am a white woman, but I don't need to have a vp of a certain race or gender or religion or sexual orientation.

I just need someone of good character, a firm believer in democracy, a strong leader who surrounds him/herself with expertise.

In the 2020 campaign I liked Cory Booker.