by Robert M. Traxler
It is very early in the Presidential election cycle, but folks are already jockeying for the nomination in the 2024 election. Two folks I hope do not run for the Presidency of the United States of America are Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden; a good question is why?
Well, the presidency is a taxing office and we all have seen presidents age in office disproportionately to the years spent. Both men mentioned above are older, and I believe are not now up to or will not be up to the stress and long hours demanded by the most important job in the world.
Unless you are in denial, you have seen President Biden lose his train of thought and misspeak when not reading a script, perfectly understandable for a man of his age. President Trump is slightly younger, President Trump 75 years and President Biden 79 years old, and they would be 78 and 82 around the time they would be re-elected, and in my opinion, both well past prime.
Many will make the argument that there are young 80-year-olds; indeed some people’s minds may be sharp, but the term is “ for his/her age, he/she is sharp as a tack.” They may be sharp when elected, but the stress and demands of the presidency eat away at a person’s health and mental sharpness.
The election of the oldest president ever (Biden) has shown the need for a strong vice president, prepared to step into the highest office in the land at a moment’s notice. Vice President Kamala Harris currently has an approval rating well below the percent needed to be elected to national office. Those numbers are of course a current snapshot and could change with the next poll, but she does not instill confidence in the majority of the America people, Republican and Democrat. The argument could be made that her selection was political and not practical to an extent not found in either party in my lifetime.
Who should run in 2024 election is anyone’s guess; one month is an eternity in politics, let alone three years. Let us hope both parties pick the best person, best equipped, and not the most politically correct at the time. That, of course, will not be the case; electability is the real test — not competence, judgement or ability.
Many years ago, while driving the 30-mile commute when stationed in Washington D. C., I was listening to President Jimmy Carter’s former campaign manager being interviewed and asked what was the best thing a person could do to prepare themselves for running for president. His answer was shocking: get your teeth capped. I was expecting him to say a course of study or a sequence of diverse jobs, military, legislative, business, diplomatic or judicial experience, but not something so superficial as getting your teeth capped. I am older and now not surprised by the advice.
We have a system that allows unelected bureaucrats to run the nation, and not the elected ones. Say what you want about President Trump, but the bureaucrats were not happy with the way he dared to tell them how to run the government, and the bureaucrats and media hated him for it; you can decide if that is good or bad thing. In the modern era, is a president just a face and teleprompter reader, or a hands-on leader? In reality the former not the latter, with the power resting with the appointed staffers and government career bureaucrats.
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