by Ernie McCray
Although I’m 86 years of age
I never
thought much about
what growing old
would actually be like,
that I would someday be in an
age group
that’s laughed at,
made fun of
in comedy routines|
and on late night TV shows
and on a sitcom or two.
Now, I have to say I laugh too.
Because comedy nibbles at truth.
But I’m seeing jokes
about what we geezers
can and cannot do
blending into a societal attitude.
Like take what President Joe Biden is going through
after mumbling and bumbling
and looking confused
as he tried to give forth with his views
in a presidential debate,
making folks, me included,
wince and flinch
in a frenzy
every time he would speak –
but, at the same time,
I can identify with him
because, as an old-timer like him,
there are moments when I
don’t walk as easily as I once did
or talk as smoothly as I used to,
and some times
when I’m trying to make a point,
I just can’t find the word I want to use.
But none of that really affects
me doing what I have to do
and the same is true
for Biden
who, despite his blunders on CNN,
has run our country well time and again
in troubling times,
something he can continue doing
because he knows how to lead,
how to work with people who have
varying insights and points-of-view
that can help him pursue
reducing crime
and protecting rights
and keeping prices low
and preventing inflation
and keeping the peace
and maintaining relations with other nations
and making decisions regarding immigration
and military operations
and so many other goings-on.
Matters that have grayed his hair
and wrinkled his face,
making him look a lot older
than he would look
if he had aged at a regular pace.
But, now, if you looked at Donald J,
the other guy in the race,
you would notice that he took the stage
at the presidential debate
not looking much older in age
than he did
when he was president
and you’d have to conclude
that although he caused a myriad of problems,
he didn’t address a single one emotionally
going through his term with essentially
no wear and tear,
spewing lies
as though he was some kind
of robotic fibbing machine,
keeping with that routine
in the debate,
failing to answer a single question.
And, not so surprisingly,
in comparison to how Biden
has been treated,
his age has hardly been mentioned
and hardly anyone has asked him to
drop out of the competition.
So, it seems that we American citizens
have to ask ourselves:
Does age really have anything to do with this
or are we ready to give up on democracy
which is at the top of Trump’s
to do list?
Oh, do we ever need a way
to fix this.
Ernie, thanks for very insightful comments regarding the importance of age in the current presidential race. Like you I’m 86 and I’m experiencing loss of memory, especially inability to recall words I want to use. It makes me frustrated, but I’ve learned that I can quickly find another word to use. I haven’t suddenly become stupid. I understand that this is the same situation that Biden is finding himself in. Of course the pressures of his situation are much greater than anything I have ever experienced, but he has dealt with this problem many more times than I have and I think he can continue to do so successfully.
Everybody ages differently. There are people in their 90s who are sharper and mentally more on the ball than people in their 30s. Others start experiencing cognitive decline in their 70s or even younger. I think it’s fair to say Biden has personally reached the point where it’s best he step down.
the only way biden should step down is if trump does first.
all this pearl clutching about one bad night is a distraction from the main problem, which will always be trump – as long as he is around. he is an existential threat to democracy.
this “ehrmigerd” hubbub stirred up by the msm pundit class seems suspiciously like an operation “drumpt” up by maga.
Don’t believe that; 50 million plus Americans watched the debate in real time and know what they saw. It’s not about Biden, it’s about the rest of us. We know that about Trump — that’s why this is so serious; the attitude by Biden loyalists that ‘there’s nothing to see here, so just move along’ is disingenuous at best.
Thanks, Editordude, for speaking truth here in a civil manner that eludes me.
I am shocked but not surprised to read glass-half-full Ernie’s sweet-talk about Biden’s disaster as if it was just about “age,” and I don’t appreciate O’Toole’s dismissing as “pearl-clutching”what we all witnessed for 90 excruciating minutes last Thursday night.
Today Pro Publica released a long cogent-enough video interview with Biden from nine months ago — presumably to get the jump on the GOP’s obtaining and publishing transcripts from DOJ Special Council Her’s interview with Biden at around the same time. (Big decline in Biden from nine months ago to the”debate” performance with Trump last week.)
Also today, Bernie Sanders sent around an op-ed in USA Today that he “co-wrote” with Biden about lowering prices for prescription drugs.
Then later this afternoon, NPR reported that Senator Sanders does not believe President Biden should step down.
Since we’re flashing age here, I am 85 and know it’s right to be mad as hell
that the Democratic National Committee and Biden are handing the November election to Donald Trump.
Wow, Frances! I remember when I first saw a flyer from you on my OB door step back in the 1990s – and I said, “Who the hell is Francine Zimmerman?”