President Biden turning 80 this week sparked some media outlets to assure everybody that he’s not too old for the job. The New York Times recently went as far as to report that “age is more than a number”:
President Biden turns 80 on Sunday, and would be 86 at the end of a second term. The New York Times spoke to 10 experts in aging about what the next six years might look like for a person of that age. They agreed that Biden has a lot going in his favor. https://t.co/gU6CKjvbiB
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 19, 2022
The Washington Post is also getting in on the “is Biden too old for the job” action, but the headline for this one might make you say “WHAT!?”
Did Kamala write this pic.twitter.com/F527nk6RGR
— Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) November 23, 2022
Yes indeed, that’s the real deal right there:
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Analysis: Biden is the oldest president ever. And America is oldest America ever.https://t.co/zbgkDM1Xlc
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 22, 2022
That reminds me a little of the title of Stephen Colbert’s book “I Am America (and So Can You).”
https://twitter.com/FrostyTakes/status/1595172839920832517
The kind of "expert analysis" @pbump is known for. https://t.co/E67Fya81pY
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) November 23, 2022
It seems that the journo in question is making a huge stretch in order to make it seem like Biden isn’t too old for the job. Why is that? Because the country is also older (this doesn’t make sense to me either):
https://twitter.com/ycomeyounotatto/status/1595178375894532096
This reads like a Michael Scott line
— Tzuri (@Vlo_Avlasa_Bo) November 22, 2022
WaPo hiring stoned teenagers to write analysis pieces https://t.co/7QMbpuyZYx
— Luke (@lateforapex) November 23, 2022
I think the point that the reporter is trying to make is that Biden’s older but so is the U.S. population. Maybe something like that?
This made me wonder how Biden’s age compared to the nation’s. He’s the oldest president ever, but America is the oldest America ever. Did that make his age less exceptional? I pulled data on the country’s population over the past 120 years and compared it to the age of the president during that period. And I can say: yes, Biden’s age is still exceptional.
The chart below shows the percentage of the population each year that’s the same age as or older than the president who served the majority of that year. (President ages are as of Dec. 31 of the year.)
The entire article seems to be a big ol’ grasp for some straws to distract us from what we see and hear from Biden almost every day. His cognitive state is the problem, not just that he’s 80 years old.
He isn’t too old for the job, the job is too old for him
— No Soup for Knowles (@nosoup4knowles) November 23, 2022
Exactly!
Probably something to do with the passage of time
— Pilgrim Coffeehouse & Truck 🇺🇸 (@pilgrim_seattle) November 23, 2022
The passage of time does tend to have its significance. Kamala taught us well.
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