Don’t Fall for the Age Trap

Michael Dover

(6/26) It’s come to this. A Trump-appointed special counsel questioned the President of the United States – on the day after a horrific attack in Israel and an impending Gaza war – for five hours, about things that happened years ago, and concluded that Biden wouldn’t be convicted because he’s "an elderly man with a poor memory."

Worse yet, the so-called mainstream media went berserk with the story. When he first ran, they’d asked: Is Biden too old to run? Since he won, they’ve asked: Is he too old to run again? Next, I guess, the question will be: When will he die?

I’ll be 80 soon. I am still mentally competent, fully capable of reading, writing, thinking, and speaking clearly. President Biden is a year older than me, but instead of relaxing in retirement like me, he’s leading our country through some of the most challenging and productive years of any presidency. He’s been responsible for passing some of the most significant legislation in decades, and bringing order, clarity, and decency into governing after a disastrous four years of Trump’s regime. Too old? I don’t think so.

Age hasn’t hindered this strong and effective president. Age brings with it experience and wisdom. Experience in crafting legislation, negotiating tough compromises, building relationships across party lines, and getting valuable work done. Wisdom in knowing when to fight and when to talk, when and how to listen, where to draw the line, and when to redraw it.

Four years ago, Joe Biden won in the middle of a pandemic that devastated the country and our economy. He provided competence in the face of Trump’s manifest incompetence, experience versus Trump’s total ignorance, normalcy and decency versus Trump’s shoot-from-the-hip MAGA politics. People ached for a government that worked, that cared, that accomplished. Biden delivered because he is smart and knows how to get things done. Trump lost because he cares only about himself – and power and money. Nothing has changed – Biden is still competent, smart, thoughtful, and effective. Trump was characterized by many members of his own cabinet and staff as a "moron," "unhinged," "dope," "an idiot," with the understanding of "a fifth-or sixth-grader," or of "an 11-year-old."

Biden builds on order, Trump thrives on chaos.

The president is much more than an individual at the top of a very large enterprise. Presidential appointments tell a lot about his character and judgment. And those appointees are the people who actually make the daily decisions that define an administration and make the government run.

Joe Biden’s appointments demonstrate the same steady hand that he’s brought to the job. Trump’s management style (if you can call it that) was to mix things up, keep everyone off balance, create the image of control emanating entirely from the top and beholden only to him. The country heaved a huge sigh of relief when he left.

Biden’s appointees are talented, capable women and men exercising leadership in their roles as advisors and administrators. Trump had no interest in others’ advice except when it served his own selfish ends. He boasted of keeping many of his appointees in an "acting" rather than a permanent role, so he could fire them at will.

Biden successfully led the country out of the pandemic and the economy out of recession while controlling inflation. He did this while passing an impressive series of laws that upended supply-side Reaganomics, and supported labor while getting the economy back on its feet.

He knows how the system works and uses that critical knowledge to effect significant change. Trump pretends to know everything when he actually knows next to nothing about governing. Biden believes deeply in democracy; Trump led an insurrection to overturn the 2024 election and openly uses fascist rhetoric in his rants.

Joe Biden has gotten to the presidency because he’s the smart grownup in the room. Trump got to where he is by being the schoolyard bully.

Take your choice. I’ll take the wise old pro over the spoiled brat any day.

Michael Dover is a co-founder of Swing Left Western Massachusetts.

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