# Is Biden too old? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 28, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405 "2022-09-28T18:35:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/61 "2022-09-29T18:30:01Z")
Point taken, but if they take the House the metaphorical guns will be higher caliber. (Impeachment, investigation). ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/62 "2022-09-29T18:51:19Z")
I was chatting with my (in her 80’s) mother last eve. She was spending time with some of our younger cousins and their single-digit-aged kids. Which was exhausting for her. We talked about the essential dichotomy (not always true, but often) of having kids when you’re young, resilient, healthy, and energetic vs. when you’re older, more established, less volatile, and have more knowledge, wisdom, and resources. If I could dial the biological clock back on JoBiden 20 or so years without giving up any of the good stuff so often so hard-earned … I would. But I’d vote for an exhumed and reanimated Charles Manson if he was the only one running against the Cheeto-Faced Shit Gibbon. So … there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/63 "2022-09-29T19:10:38Z")
Yup. They’re pulling out the impeachment gun already. I’m not worried, they don’t have anything to load it with. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/64 "2022-09-29T19:41:01Z")
Even if Biden is having a mental decline, and I am still firmly convinced that he is not, Reagan had the beginnings of Alzheimer’s through at least his second term. So quit panicking everyone. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/65 "2022-09-29T20:13:56Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Besides, he doesn’t know the 25th amendment from the 25th Corinthians. This is they guy who declared the 14th amendment was unconstitutional. I’m not worried about a 78 year old T\*\*\*\* slipping into his dotage – he’s been there since he was fifty. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/66 "2022-09-29T21:50:33Z")
I think Biden is doing well, and even a hypothetical senile, decrepit Biden is better than any version of Trump I’ve seen. That said, Biden is, in fact, too old. It is cruel to put a man of that age through the ordeal of a presidential campaign while also running the country. (I also think Trump is too old.) I would prefer that someone entering their first term be under 70. I think, as Biden has made clear, than men can manage into their late 70s / early 80s just fine, even if there is a little bit of physical and mental decline. I suspect the experience and general life wisdom, plus their staff, more than make up for it. If Biden is the best chance to beat Trump, then I’ll support him, because there’s simply too much at stake. I also wouldn’t want an upper age limit, because there’s no sense in ruling out someone exceptional. But if we, as a nation of 330,000,000 people, can’t come up with someone under 70 who is just as good or better, we need to look at what’s going on and make some changes. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/67 "2022-09-29T22:29:09Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Even if Biden is having a mental decline, and I am still firmly convinced that he is not, Reagan had the beginnings of Alzheimer’s through at least his second term. So quit panicking everyone. No, he didn’t. All four White House physicians during Reagan’s two terms swore that he displayed no signs of cognitive impairment while in office. His Alzheimer’s diagnosis came in 1994, six years after he left office. His doctors said that he didn’t start showing early signs of Alzheimers until the summer of 1993. Here’s a speech he gave in 1992, four years after leqving office: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WxL3OU1dwmI/maxresdefault.jpg "President Reagan's Address at the 1992 Republican National Convention 8/17/1992") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxL3OU1dwmI) Joe Biden does not appear as sharp now as Reagan did four years after he left office. As a reminder, Reagan was 78 at the end of his second term - younger than Joe Biden is now. From [Snopes:](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ronald-reagan-alzheimers-disease/) > [@](#): > > Although no cognitive tests were administered to Reagan during his time in office (his doctors saw no need for them), he did begin receiving annual mental and psychological assessments in 1990, after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain. The four-hour battery of tests, which would have detected signs of dementia, found nothing amiss for the first three years they were administered. “All parameters for his age absolutely were within the normal range,” one of Reagan’s doctors said. It was Reagan himself who [announced](https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sreference/reagan-s-letter-announcing-his-alzheimer-s-diagnosis) the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in 1994. > > There were certainly no indications of dementia (age, perhaps, but not dementia) when the 81-year-old former president delivered a 35-minute [speech](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxL3OU1dwmI) at the 1992 Republican National Convention, a performance _Washington Post_ reporter Bob Woodward described as “flawless.” ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/68 "2022-09-29T22:49:08Z")
Believe what you want, but even Snopes calls the subject of Reagan’s having Alzheimer’s in the White House unproven. Even his own family thought he had the symptoms way before the 1994 announcement of the disease, along with others who interacted with him during his administration. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/69 "2022-09-29T22:51:47Z")
Moderating: Hijack. > [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Reagan had the beginnings of Alzheimer’s through at least his second term. So quit panicking everyone. Hijack. > [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Believe what you want, but even Snopes calls the subject of Reagan’s having Alzheimer’s in the White House unproven. Hijack. > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > No, he didn’t. Let’s leave off with this side discussion now. You can start your own thread if you wish to continue the discussion about Reagan. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/70 "2022-09-29T23:00:14Z")
I _do_ enjoy Trae Crowder (“The Liberal Redneck”). Here’s his take on Biden’s (and Kamala’s) recent gaffe(s): Ttl (w/commercial): ~5min Comm’l that can be skipped: btw ~2:45 and ~4:15 \*\*NSFW - LANGUAGE \*\* [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yc_Y_QMVQac/maxresdefault.jpg "Liberal Redneck - Biden's Gaffes") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc_Y_QMVQac) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/71 "2022-09-29T23:01:09Z")
I’d like to see age maximums on all public positions. Something like you have to be under 65 when you first start, and then mandatory retirement (or no longer eligible to run for re-election) around 72. For POTUS, this would mean the oldest person who qualified could turn 65 January 21st, the day after having been sworn in to office for the first time. Then serve eight years and leave office the day after their 73rd birthday. Supreme Court Justices the same: Under 65 to be appointed, mandatory retirement at 72. Same thing in Congress. All of those positions have minimum ages. Is there any legal reason they couldn’t also have maximums? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/72 "2022-09-29T23:42:09Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I’d like to see age maximums on all public positions. My biggest problem with this is that there is _so_ much individual variation in at what chronological age a person becomes _old_. Whatever age you set, there are going to be people who are feeble and decrepit before they reach that age and people who are healthy and vigorous beyond it. If there were a specific age, I’d want some considerable medical and historical expertise involved in the choice, rather than just pulling a number out of your ass. > [@EllisDee](#): > > All of those positions have minimum ages. Is there any legal reason they couldn’t also have maximums? I suspect that any additional qualifications, including maximum ages, would require an amendment to the Constitution; but if such an amendment were passed, it would then be the law of the land. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/73 "2022-09-30T00:15:45Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I’d like to see age maximums on all public positions. Something like you have to be under 65 when you first start, and then mandatory retirement (or no longer eligible to run for re-election) around 72. For POTUS, this would mean the oldest person who qualified could turn 65 January 21st, the day after having been sworn in to office for the first time. Then serve eight years and leave office the day after their 73rd birthday. > > Supreme Court Justices the same: Under 65 to be appointed, mandatory retirement at 72. Same thing in Congress. > > All of those positions have minimum ages. Is there any legal reason they couldn’t also have maximums? I personally don’t think that there’s any legal reason against it, but some people might accuse you of discrimination against the elderly. What would be more logical, however, would be to require annual medical exams after a certain age. An office holder could continue in office as long as a doctor signed off on it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/74 "2022-09-30T00:40:52Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I’d like to see age maximums on all public positions. S Can we also have sex and race restrictions too? 🤨 🙄 Senior Age restrictions are a form of bigotry, often called ageism. Yeah, some dudes who are older are unfit. Some dudes who are younger are unfit- my proof- every single MAGA holder of public office. I don’t want age restrictions- I want every candidate to publicly agree to the fact Biden won the 2020 election or they can’t run for office. I want every single current office holder to swear to the same thing. > [@Bootb](#): > > I personally don’t think that there’s any legal reason against it, but some people might accuse you of discrimination against the elderly. Yes, there is. It is called " age discrimination". And it is exactly that. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/75 "2022-09-30T00:45:40Z")
For those unaware… [Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_Discrimination_in_Employment_Act_of_1967) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/76 "2022-09-30T00:46:10Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > I personally don’t think that there’s any legal reason against it, but some people might accuse you of discrimination against the elderly. And, in fact, being age 40 or above places you in a “protected class” in the U.S., and being fired from a job (or forced to retire) specifically because you are age 40+ is, from a legal standpoint, age discrimination, and against the law. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/77 "2022-09-30T00:48:59Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > What would be more logical, however, would be to require annual medical exams after a certain age. An office holder could continue in office as long as a doctor signed off on it. You mean like this? (.pdf warning) > **[President-Biden-Current-Health-Summary-November-2021.pdf](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/President-Biden-Current-Health-Summary-November-2021.pdf)** > > 2.70 MB It’s not compulsory, but Biden intends to put one out in each year of his presidency, I believe. Both before he took offfice and to date. I expect we’ll see another in November 2022. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/78 "2022-09-30T00:51:27Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > What would be more logical, however, would be to require annual medical exams after a certain age. An office holder could continue in office as long as a doctor signed off on it. The Former Guy in that office had some annual physicals which seemed to be, to be charitable, very complimentary, if not outright exaggerations. But, hey, a doctor signed off on it. > [@](#): > > The unconventional Bornstein, known for his shoulder-length hair, drew media attention in late December 2015 when he released a letter saying that Trump, a devout fan of fast food who by his own proclamation does not vigorously exercise, would “unequivocally” be the healthiest president in history. He further deemed the celebrity businessman’s condition “astonishingly excellent.” > > Bornstein later revealed that Trump himself had dictated the glowing assessment, calling it “black humor” and admitting he had written it in five minutes while a limo sent by the then-candidate waited outside his office. > **[Physician who declared Trump would be the healthiest president in history dies](https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-01-15/physician-donald-trump-healthiest-president-ever-dies)** > > Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, who once issued a statement declaring Donald Trump's health "astonishingly excellent" despite his fast-food diet, dies at 73. > [@](#): > > Jackson said the president enjoyed good health despite a subpar diet and no exercise routine. > > “It’s called genetics,” Jackson said. “Some people just have great genes. I told the president if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years he might live to be 200.” > **[White House Doctor Says Trump Is In 'Excellent' Physical, Cognitive Health](https://www.npr.org/2018/01/16/578424523/white-house-doctor-says-trump-is-in-excellent-physical-cognitive-health)** > > Dr. Ronny Jackson said the president could benefit from losing between 10 and 15 pounds over the coming year as well as beginning an exercise regimen. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/79 "2022-09-30T01:21:57Z")
Slight detour, but I think it need be added here: # Trump on His White House Doctor: ‘He Loved Looking at My Body’ > **[Trump Says His White House Doctor ‘Loved Looking at My Body’](https://www.thedailybeast.com/former-president-donald-trump-says-his-white-house-doctor-ronny-jackson-loved-looking-at-my-body/)** > > Jackson was seen grinning in the audience as the former president gave the bizarre shoutout. Any and all would be excused for becoming nauseated at this one. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-biden-too-old/972405/80 "2022-09-30T01:27:13Z")
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