President Biden鈥檚 essential purpose
Leaders of the Democratic Party are now debating whether to ask U.S. President Joe Biden not to run again based on his performance in Thursday night鈥檚 debate with Donald Trump. They are correct in one respect. Asking him is preferable to forcing his exit, if that is what the party seeks. Yet they can also take a cue from Jill Biden. Last year, the first lady hinted that her husband has options other than being president.
鈥淚t鈥檚 Joe鈥檚 decision,鈥� she told CNN. 鈥淎nd we support whatever he wants to do. If he鈥檚 in, we鈥檙e there.鈥�
The idea of not setting limits on Mr. Biden鈥檚 future reminds us of the late actor Glenda Jackson. After decades of working in film and theater, she went on to a successful career as a politician, only to return to the theater at age 82 playing King Lear on Broadway for eight shows a week. When asked by The New York Times if she feared getting older, she replied, 鈥淭he essential you is on the inside, it stays the same.鈥�
As the average life span has risen, views have expanded about the potential of older people to keep contributing.聽鈥淲e鈥檝e added a couple of decades, essentially an entire generation, onto our lives, and we haven鈥檛, kind of, socio-culturally figured out how to handle that,鈥� geriatrician Louise Aronson told CBS News.
Dr. Aronson believes public anxiety about aging leaders reflects a fear of aging itself. She suggested in a Wall Street Journal column that people should instead 鈥渃reate the kind of world we want to be old in, one of opportunities and recognition of competence at all stages of life.鈥�
Mr. Biden may decide聽to stay in the race, as is very possible in聽coming days and weeks. But if he does bow out as聽a candidate, it need not be a retirement but rather a 鈥渞ewirement.鈥�听听When George Washington stepped down as military commander in 1783 at age 51, he thought of himself as 鈥済ray鈥� and 鈥渁lmost blind.鈥� Yet he went on to be president for two terms. Then at age 66, he agreed to serve in the military again, Maurizio Valsania, a history professor at the University of Turin, wrote for The Conversation.
Had Mr. Biden lived in that age, stated Dr. Valsania, 鈥渉is value would have likely outweighed his deficits in the eyes鈥� of a country that was 鈥渁ware of the wisdom that certain old leaders could still provide.鈥� Such wisdom need not be confined to the curved walls of the Oval Office.
