For 76-year-old Joe Biden, age a factor as he mulls 2020 run

[DonViejo]

By THOMAS BEAUMONT, MEG KINNARD and BILL BARROW

33 minutes ago

As he considers running for president, Joe Biden is talking with friends and longtime supporters about whether, at 76, he’s too old to seek the White House, according to several sources who have spoken with the former Democratic vice president.

The discussions suggest Biden is aware that his age may be the biggest hurdle to launching another bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, especially in an era when many in the party yearn for a new generation of leadership. He would be the oldest person to ever be elected president.

Past and current advisers to Biden have held frequent conversations about options to alleviate concerns about age, including teaming him with a younger running mate. One option that has been floated, according to a source with knowledge of the talks, is outgoing Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who at 46 has become the subject of intense 2020 speculation after nearly beating GOP Sen. Ted Cruz.

The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. Representatives for Biden and O’Rourke declined to comment for this story.

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https://apnews.com/adc92878ae0044868176760aff44e3cc

[SWBTATTReg]

1. At least he's honest about his capabilities here. I respect this very much. Whatever he ...

decides, I'm with him.

[hlthe2b]

2. well, he is a very young 76 yo and he clearly knows the stress of the job...

That won't be the deciding factor for me. A factor, yes, but, Biden is exceptional.

[Bucky]

3. He's great. But 1988 was his year. We'd be a diff country if he'd won then

I'm sorry but it's time to pass the torch.

[BSdetect]

6. Could not agree more. Great respect for Joe but he is not going to be the one we need.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

38. +1.

[LongtimeAZDem]

4. Biden/O'Rourke - 2020, O'Rourke/? - 2024 /nt

[Bucky]

7. Nominating Beto won't give Joe a youth infusion

And I'm the last person to advocate identity politics, but I seriously doubt we will nominate to white males in 2020

[LongtimeAZDem]

9. I'm not trying to give Biden a "youth infusion"; my suggestion is a two-stage plan

I think Biden is what we need to rebuild the credibility of the U.S. government after this bull-in-the-china-shop administration is over. He brings experience and credibility, and a signal to the world that we've returned to a modicum of sanity.

But, he is old, and could only be effective for a single term; we need to mentor in someone to take us forward.

This is not a normal election; the current President has done serious damage, and it requires a serious plan for repair.

And if we disregard the all of that simply because of a candidate's gender, race, religion, or age, then we're no better than the bigots across the aisle, no matter what we tell ourselves.

[Bucky]

10. Beto needs a mentor?

Sorry, but you're ignoring the history. His six years in Congress was plenty of time to understand how the town works. Just like four years in Congress was enough for Obama to be ready for the White House. Just like being governor of a podunk state was enough for Bill Clinton to be president.

We shouldn't be so in love with direct at-the-top experience. All the founding fathers believed in a rotation in office. You need to bring up a leader from within the middle class, which (except for FDR) has been the Hallmark and origins of all the great Democratic leaders of the past century.

I'm not arguing for Beto in particular (yet). I'm arguing against nominating someone with so much baggage that they make it easy for the Republicans to run their old divide and conquer shtick. That's their strength as much as useful vision and strength is ours

[LongtimeAZDem]

12. Yes he does. Six years in the Republican House is nothing, and Obama's term in the Senate did not

prepare him for the reality of Washington opposition. And Beto ain't Barack, IMO.

Clinton was elected in another era, before the GOP "Contract with America", the 50+1 strategy, and the abandonment of the need for a mandate.

All politicians have baggage; Biden's is well known, and old news.

[marylandblue]

26. Biden will be the victim of the same attacks as Kerry and Clinton

Non stop 24/7 coverage of his plagiarism, creepy touching of women, Anita Hill, every vote he ever made, every gaffe, as we overlook the much greater deficiencies of his opponent. They tried it against Obama too, there just wasn't much material to work with.

[LongtimeAZDem]

31. Yeah, forget it /nt

[no_hypocrisy]

5. And it has to be a decisive win.

Trump could lose in 2020 and resurrect himself in 2024. Yeah, late 70's but I think he'd consider it.

[Bucky]

8. This is exactly why we have to rout the Republicans hard in 2020

We have to show them that history rejects even semi fascism

[erpowers]

11. Mentor Others

I think Joe Biden should concentrate on mentoring young men and young women who could one day run for office. In two years Biden will be 78. By the time he finishes his first term he will be 82. If he were to try to serve a second term he would be 86 by the time he left office. It would be far more helpful for Joe Biden to find at least one young man or young woman and guide that person through running for office. It would also be more helpful if he tried to get more young men and young women interested in getting involved in politics.

[Blue_true]

14. Bernie will be 78 also. Should he do the same thing? nt

[erpowers]

18. Yes

Yes, I think all the older Democrats should either start to mentor young people, or continue to mentor young people. I am not opposed to older people being in office; I just think they should pass on running for President and focus on mentoring young people and encouraging them to get into politics. I even think Nancy Pelosi should mentor young people. I do not think she needed to limit herself to a four year term as Speaker of the House, but I think it is good that she will work with younger Democrats in order to help them to be able to move into her position when she leaves.

Also, I am not one of the big Bernie Sanders fans. I was a Hillary Clinton fan. However, I also think she and her husband should try to spend time mentoring young Democrats and try to get them elected to office. The Democratic Party needs to focus on building the bench for future runs.

[DFW]

21. Should? That is exactly what she IS doing, and has been for a while.

She and Howard Dean have full time projects recruiting and mentoring young Democratic candidates around the country, and they are coordinating them.

I befriended a young Democrat from Iowa a year ago, and met up with him in Washington in April. I told him to hook up with Howard Dean, and he said he'd love to, but didn't know how. He was running for State Auditor in Iowa against a well-entrenched Republican. I called Howard when he was there and put him on the phone thinking they would exchange contact info and maybe get together later on. Instead he and Howard talked for half an hour (!!!!), and not only did my friend end up winning, but now his name is being tossed around as a serious candidate to challenge either Joni Ernst or Chuck Grassley for their Iowa Senate seat.

Hillary and Howard have several such recruitment and mentoring projects up and running. They may not make a lot of noise about them (good for them!), but they have been at this for over a year now, and are not slowing down.

[erpowers]

36. Thought That Might Be the Case

I thought that might be the case. That is why I stated in my post that older Democrats should either start to mentor, or continue to mentor young Democrats. I realize that there seems to be a number of older Democrats who are mentoring young people. I know that Maxine Waters mentors young Democrats. She likely does not mention her mentorship often. So, I thought there may have been other Democrats who are mentoring young Democrats, but not making a big deal out of their mentorships.

The point I was trying to make is that I think older Democrats should focus on mentoring young Democrats so the young Democrats will be ready and able to run when seats open up instead of thinking about running for President. There needs to be young Democrats who can run for open seats, or even occupied seats.

[DFW]

46. Howard said over a year ago that he and Hillary were booting this up

And so they have, I'd say!

He did ask me not to say how many or to what extent, but I can tell you it was more than just one project!

[Blue_true]

47. Thanks for the insight. I really did not know the mentoring was happening.

Incredible team, the most accomplished woman in the history of American politics and the best DNC Chair ever (though Perez is doing pretty good).

[DFW]

56. They are not making a lot of noise about it.

This is about the next generation, after all, and neither of them is really in any great need of name recognition at this point. Their accomplishments will live on in the candidates they find, train, and usher into public office. Those candidates need to win under their own identities, not as "Clinton protégé A" or "Dean protégé B." So far, I have not heard Howard's name or Hillary's name associated with anyone, so I take it their efforts to remain in the background are succeeding.

[Cha]

29. 79.

[Blue_true]

48. Thanks Cha. At the age that I am getting to, I have started wanting to forget years. n

[Blue_true]

13. Why just Biden? Bernie is 76, why not list him if you're going to use age?

Sort of lopsided analysis. Wonder why?

[Garrett78]

15. I think there are 2 reasons for that.

One, Sanders ran last time and it's assumed he will run again. Two, Biden - unlike Sanders - could actually win the nomination. I don't think he would, but he has more of a chance than Sanders.

[George II]

25. Sanders is more than a year older than Biden (Biden 11/42, Sanders 9/41)...

....Clinton is way younger than both of them (10/47)

We have to keep that in mind the next time someone says she's too old.

[Garrett78]

33. And women live longer on average. But I think it's assumed that Clinton isn't going to run in 2020.

While Sanders is expected to run and Biden seems to be seriously considering it.

In 2016, Clinton was actually the younger of the 2 candidates (in both the primary and the general election).

[George II]

34. Yes, I've posted elsewhere that she's essentially more than a decade younger than Sanders.

[Garrett78]

35. 6/10ths of a decade anyway.

[Bucky]

42. I'm not certain Clinton isn't going to run.

You see the occasional trial balloon being floated in the press.

I hope she's content being our generation's Samuel Tilden.

[Renew Deal]

24. Because this story is about Biden

It applies to Bernie too, but Bernie’s goal isn’t to win.

[phleshdef]

39. Because the article is about Biden.

If you want to write a different article, no one is stopping you.

[Garrett78]

16. He'd be the age Reagan was when Reagan *left* office.

When the last 5 Democratic presidents have averaged 48.6 years of age upon taking office.

Not to mention Biden's history with the Thomas-Hill hearing and penchant for gaffes There's a reason his previous attempts (plural) came up far short. If Biden runs, everyone will be reminded that he's not just lovable Uncle Joe who pals around with Obama. The only reason he's even getting consideration is because Obama resurrected his career.

He's right to consider not running.

[Polybius]

17. Maybe that's our problem

We need to stop running candidates in their 40's. I prefer a President a bit more seasoned, which is why I thought Hillary's age in 2016 was perfect. With that being said, 77 does worry me.

[Garrett78]

20. Obama was probably the best president we've ever had. Meanwhile...

...the 2 oldest were Trump and Reagan. Harrison comes in 3rd.

25 presidents have been in their 50s when taking office. 9 have been in their 40s. 5 others have been between 60 and 62. So, 39 of the 45 have been 62 or younger. I have no problem with that.

[Polybius]

22. The two oldest were bad, but that will change if we elect older than them

If Biden wins two terms and then Tim Kaine runs and wins, then the two oldest presidents will have been great.

[Bucky]

40. We've had such a trainwreck with young candidates in the past. Yes.

Bill Clinton (46), Barack Obama (47), Jack Kennedy (43), Franklin Roosevelt (50)... oh these whippersnapper punks just come into office and just trash the country. What the hell were we thinking?

[samnsara]

43. im thinking these are much more dangerous times now...

…..im voting for experience. Doesnt have to be Joe but someone with his experience would be nice.

[Renew Deal]

23. He should spare himself a defeat and stay out of it

[BlueStater]

27. He shouldn't run for several reasons.

1) Obviously, he's way too damn old. I can accept a 70-year-old president, but 80 is too much for me. Isn't 76, which he is now, the average life expectancy for men in this country? No matter how healthy he may be, the probability of him dying in office is much higher than it would be for a younger president.

2) He wouldn't be as appealing of a candidate as many people assume him to be. His presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008 certainly didn't go anywhere. Right now, he's getting a lot of positive publicity by hanging off Obama's coattails. Without Obama around, he won't be nearly as popular. Plus, I can't see the youth of this country really getting excited over a nearly 80-year-old man.

And, personally, I don't see him contrasting well with Trump (assuming he's still around) at all. The current president is a senile, lumbering fossil from a bygone era? Let's run someone even older and more ancient against him! Great idea!

[roamer65]

28. As long as he has a good VP, I have no problem with him running.

The main job of the VP is to be ready and able to take the office of POTUS on a moments notice.

[StTimofEdenRoc]

30. He would make a great VP choice for a much younger, less experienced candidate.

[onetexan]

53. Ditto

[Loge23]

32. Bring on the new.

Times they are a changin' and we, as a party, need to change with them.
The tide of right-wing populism should serve as a good lesson to all of us.
I am convinced that this red wave is composed of a (thankfully) dying breed. Sure there are plenty of young racists and fascists, but the political weight is borne by the 60+ crowd (an age group that this poster is one of, btw).
The pendulum will indeed swing back to the party that offers the best attention to people, not corporations, and issues rather than agendas. The GOP lies and scams are already revealing themselves.
We should be thinking long-term here and we should nurture the next blue wave rather than foolishly hold to the past. Joe Biden has been a giant for our party, but we need more giants now and they have to come from the present.
We have a good roster of capable and qualified candidates.
Let's focus on them.

[Adrahil]

37. Retire in honor, Joe...

As perhaps the greatest Vice President in U.S. history.

[samnsara]

41. i want him to run but i dont want him to burn out either...

… I will gladly settle for Sherrod Brown or Kamala...or both!

[ghostsinthemachine]

44. Huge issue for me

I dont want an ancient drug warrior for a president.EW, too old. Bernie, too old. Biden, too old.

[struggle4progress]

45. He'll be too old. He's smart; he's experienced; he's got the right values. BUT

that job grinds everybody down 24/7

[rgbecker]

49. Please: No one over 60.

Call it age-ism if you like...but we need some vigor and someone who is going to be around to suffer the consequences of his/her actions....re climate change.

[Flaleftist]

50. He can be Beto's running mate and his age wouldn't be as much of an issue.

[janterry]

51. He had his chance, this is not his time

n/t

[aeromanKC]

52. Biden is a 1000 times healthier than Trump

and you don't hear age as an issue for Trump.

[violetpastille]

54. Trump's age is the least worst thing about him. It's on the list. But #5,897 on the list. n/t

[Irishxs]

55. One Termer Biden

I love Biden, but he’s too old and would probably only get one term. GOP would have a chance to win again after only four years. Nice guy, but would not get my vote because of age.