By Ray Cardello for February 21, 2024, Season 24 / Post 46

The President of the United States, and by extension, the Leader of the Free World, should be judged solely on their Presidency and Administration results. Policies should be the measuring stick; politics should not, but certainly does today more than ever, come into play when determining the results of a Presidency. Today, we have new characteristics used by many to ascertain a person’s performance or qualification for the office. I think age must be considered, but not chronological age. Age and cognitive level have become synonymous, and that is just wrong. When a Biden supporter is asked if Joe Biden is too old at 81 to run for the office of President, they usually deflect immediately to the fact that Donald Trump is only three years younger than Joe Biden, so if Trump is capable, then to be consistent, Joe must be, too. No, this is not the place for consistent logic and a perfect example of why age should not be a factor. However, the cognitive level must be considered by the voters.

The cognitive level has rarely come up when discussing the merits of Presidential candidates. That is because, until 2024, we have never had an 81 year-old candidate brazen enough to think they are still sharp enough for the job. Joe Biden believes he is fully functioning and will be until he is 86 years old at the end of a second term. Joe Biden is not fully functioning today, but he will not admit it, nor is anyone in his family or circle of staff and consultants courageous enough to explain to Joe that his time is past and he should pass the baton to a more fit candidate.

Politics has become an emotional game. The typical voter does not do the homework necessary to understand the policy positions. These voters instead vote for who they “like” or who they “feel” will do the job. This is why the campaign ads are so important and why you may never see Joe Biden on a debate stage. Biden’s handlers will need to keep him sheltered and moot so that he will make as few mistakes as possible, and there is no opportunity for a visual comparison between the two candidates. The game plan to keep Biden in the basement worked in 2020 because he had the pandemic as an excuse. Unless the Democrats can manifest another global scare before Election Day, most Americans will see through this charade.

Donald Trump has a portfolio of accomplishments from his first term that he should be able to campaign on. Unfortunately, his personality does not allow him to tout his accomplishments quietly. Trump cannot prevent himself from saying controversial things that become the soundbites for the evening news. They are controversial because they evoke anger or frustration in many and allow them to label Trump as an out-of-control radical who will further divide our country. Even Nikki Haley calls Trump a disaster. She approves of many of his policies but not his demeanor. Well, Joe Biden ran in 2020 on the promise to be the adult in the room and heal the divisions Trump created. Three years later, Biden widened the division, and his harmful policies damaged the country in ways that may never be corrected. I will take the brash over destructive. I think the polls are starting to align with my choice.