Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

People from both sides of political spectrum will be talking about one thing between now and election day. The flavor for the months to come will be about President Joe Biden being too old to serve another term as president. Right-wing media are running stories non-stop about the president being past his time to be in any office, let alone that of the presidency. Biden is 81 years-old, which many will agree that is kind of old to serve in a job as demanding as that of the presidency. However, for some reasons that defy logic, many are dismissing the notion that at 77 years of age, Donald Trump is somehow “hitting his stride”. Right wing media point to the gaffes that Biden has made in press conferences or at other times when speaking in public, while at the same time, is dismissive of the number of times that Donald Trump has said things that would baffle the mind of Albert Einstein. Yes, at 81, the president is guilty of saying things that might cause one to scratch their heads, but there are some who are much younger than the president who are also guilty of saying things that in the real world do not make sense. It happens. Simply, is the president a “clear and present danger” to the interest of America in this ever-changing dangerous world? That, in the words of Mitch McConnell when denying Merrick Garland a senate confirmation hearing who famously said, let the American people “make the decision” in November. Republicans do not want that because they know that with the baggage that Donald Trump is bringing in this election year, Democrat’s will run endless ads ranging from Trump’s gaffes to the trials that may be in progress during nomination time at the Republican convention.

There is one piece of information about Biden that has Republicans salivating when details of an investigation in Biden’s handling of classified information was publicly revealed. In the report, a special counsel was highly critical of the president’s age and memory. The report did not call for charges to be filed against the president as they have been filed in Trump’s case, but the special counsel did appear to offer his own personal opinion on Biden’s mental state. The special counsel said that if Biden would be on trial, he would portray himself as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory”. The special counsel knew that if he would say those words in a trial, Biden’s lawyer would object because the special counsel is not a doctor. The special counsel was appointed during the Trump administration seems to be doing an inside job on the president, making conclusions that would be best left up to the president’s doctors. Except, this is a “win-at-all-costs” election for Trump because it is win or possibly go to jail.

Democrats will quickly remind the public that Trump is not the poster boy for health either. It is no secret that Trump at 77 is not as healthy, as he never talks about his health. He is said to be “grossly overweight” having an appetite for hamburgers. They will remind voters of him telling an Atlanta jail employee who fingerprinted Trump and who took the mugshots of him, that he weighed 215 pounds. Did Trump “forget” how much he weighs, and how about those rambling interviews from right-wing media where Trump is fed softball questions? The election will be played out in the court of public opinion through slick commercials by conservatives portraying Trump as the man “who can do no wrong”. Forget about 91 indictments, the $88 million to a woman a jury says that Trump allegedly sexually assaulted. There are literally dozens of clips that can be played of Trump looking and sounding confused. The president showed some fight when the report allegedly criticized him for not remembering when his son Beau Biden died from cancer. Perhaps that was off-limits because no one “forgets” truly horrific events, as conservatives ask for privacy on tragic matter that they don’t want to talk about. But this is for all of the political marbles. One thing is certain, come November if Father Time doesn’t intervene(either man) or a judge announces a ruling, the next president will be an old man. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.