Who will join POTUS nominee Biden on the Democrat ticket as VP?

That was me lamenting that our only choice is between 70+ year olds. Hillary would have been over 70 as well if she had been elected.

I don’t know why the duopoly always insists on choosing between elderly people with questionable health who have only 20 years left to care about what their policies do to the future of the country.

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Hey!! I resemble that remark! Still don’t think of myself as elderly, though.

Can tell you this:

There is a world of difference between age 74 and age 78. I realize Trump criticizers like to conflate his age and Biden’s. But I know better. And Trump is a young 74 while Biden is, well, all you have to do is listen to him.

Also, even when he was much younger, Biden was never close to being the sharpest knife in the drawer. That situation does not improve with age.

All that said:

I concede Biden is merely a placeholder, a surrogate, for hard left Democrat operatives currently remaining quietly in the shadows. As such, Biden’s diminished cognitive abilities matter a LOT less. Should he win, other people will actually be calling the shots.

Contrast that with Trump. Love him or detest him, it’s Trump who calls the shots and nobody else. That much is for certain.

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From 30 year younger than those ages, it’s well within the rounding error to me.

Certainly for actuarial tables, life expectancy separates them by 2.5 years (9.4 vs 11.8). So roughly speaking, they are both statistically dead in 9-12 years (they may have better healthcare than most but also higher levels of stress so not gonna adjust these numbers either way).

Subtract 4 years from that 9-12 year life expectancy, and by the time either of them is done as POTUS, they only will have to live with their legacy for 5-8 years. To put it nicely, that’s a pathetically low level of skin in the game IMO. To put it not as nicely, they are both wealthy enough to not need to give a f— about anything but their own survival in the next decade. That bodes really well for how they’ll “serve” our country…

There’s a minimum age to be POTUS/VP (35) but we should also have a maximum age (say 67 just like full social security benefits) for being elected to these offices (same for being elected to Congress). Maybe those elected will be a bit more in touch with their electorate then, care a bit more about how they’ll live in the country they leave to their successors, and not have as many potential health issues (and debates about them).

For a given person’s progression, yes, that can be a significant difference. You generally only go downhill from 74 to 78.

But when comparing two people, 4 years loses all relative significance because everyone is on a different scale. There’s a world of difference between a 9 year old and a 13 year old. But beyond that, a 4 year age difference has little effect on abilities; the differences are individual based, not age based. There are “young” 78 year olds, and “old” 74 (or even 64) year olds.

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Yes, of course.

But Trump is a young 74 and Biden is really showing his age as he closes in on 78.

I think a Biden candidacy four years ago might have been viable. Today? Not so much.

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Lol. No fine motor control to hold a bottle of water or ability to walk down a very gradual ramp. No ability to form coherent sentences. All-burger diet and no exercise. “Young”

Biden is in better physical (lol, imagine Trump trying to ride a bicycle…) and mental shape. Definitely offsets some of the 3 year time difference.

Do you think Trump ever rode a bicycle? That doesnt really have anything to do with age. :slight_smile:

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It has to do with general health and expected relative rate of deterioration with age…

Relative life expectancy goes way down with no aerobic exercise. Cognitive abilities go down faster with no upkeep (such as maintaining balance on a bike, only since the example is already in discussion).

Hey, now… I don’t like making assumptions.
What’s to say he didn’t have one of the illegal alien servants he used his dad’s money to illegally employ power a tandem bike for him at one point? There’s no evidence one way or the other. But, you know, “people are saying” he might have been a passenger on a bike at some point.

I realize you are unable to see what we all see. And nobody is questioning Biden’s physical capability. But then I’m confident you understand that.

This thread goes back to the Democrat debates, before they even began. You saw the real Biden during those debates. It was not pretty, and it was not in the least reassuring.

That said I understand the following:

Biden’s deteriorated mental state makes no difference on the left. Trump’s too often annoying messaging makes no difference on my side. Neither really matters. It’s what they will DO that matters. Biden will go off in directions preferred by liberals. Trump will take the conservative course.

I admit I do have concern with Biden being the ultimate decider on some stuff that only a POTUS can decide personally. But he will have a lot of help. It should be OK unless he must make a decision very, very rapidly before others can assist him.

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So true. I saw Biden last night, democrat moderator/democrat questions. Did ok.

One big difference, no one ask a question that might make Biden angry. That’s when we would see the real Biden in a debate.

At the same time, couple days ago we saw Trump with democrat moderator. Most questions without a doubt were from democrats. Trump was ok, answered the questions. A few question might make a person angry. NOT Trump, he handled with ease. IMO

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Yeah you do!

Herd mentality covfefe :smile:

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You mean like our last two “young and foolish” leaders? :smile:

I’m not too far behind our current crop, but still have plenty of energy. I also have seen a lot change in the last 20 years, and that 20 years gives one a much different perspective. When I was 35, I would have been a lousy president of a country or a 40+ person company. At 55, I was in my stride.

Thank goodness that he wasn’t a passenger in Ted Kennedy’s car, especially near water and a bridge.