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🇺🇸 How Old is Too Old?

Plus, why was Benjamin Franklin’s basement filled with skeletons?

June 09, 2023

The Flag

Good morning, and happy Friday. Millions of California children will receive free books thanks to this American music legend.

Plus, why was Benjamin Franklin’s basement filled with skeletons?

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TRENDING

Right: Barr Confirms Raskin Lied About Biden Bribery Probe Margot Cleveland, Federalist

Right: Moms for Hate? John Hinderaker, PowerLine

Left: The Age of Goggles Has Arrived Ian Bogost, The Atlantic

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POLITICS

How Old is Too Old?

Just over a week ago, President Biden took a hard fall at the US Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony. The Commander in Chief had just delivered the commencement address and was offering congratulations to cadets walking by when he went down.

From The Flag: Biden has taken some spills in the past, notably while riding his bike in front of reporters and while ascending the Air Force Once steps. This most recent incident has renewed questions over his age and the fact he’s already the oldest president in history at age 80. Here’s more from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Biden’s Fall Is of Small Significance, Even if Age Questions Remain

  • It’s certainly reasonable to wonder if President Biden is up to the task ahead of a second term, but not because of this benign fall.

  • Biden’s tumble at the Air Force Academy was not unique but does say something about how we view elected officials and their image.

  • Of course age matters, but if we set work limits based on age alone, we risk premature loss of talent and opportunities — for individuals and society.

Biden is America’s oldest president – but tripping over a sandbag tells us nothing Jill Filipovic, The Guardian Opinion: "With the leading 2024 contenders both well into their golden years, it’s reasonable to ask if they’re cognitively and physically up to the task. ... Tripping over a sandbag and then righting oneself, though, offers no insight into Biden’s physical or cognitive health. ... (He) tripped, in a minor accident that could have befallen any one of us. The concern (or feigned concern) over it also only reveals what we already know: that the president, as well as the leading presidential contender from the Republican party, are both elderly men, and that comes with risks, broken bones from falls among them. ... But Biden was fine; the only story is that he fell, which is only a story because he’s old. ... (But) if Biden is too old to be president, then so is Trump, and vice versa."

Biden isn't the only politician to fall: Why we can't look away Adela Sulimon, Washington Post: "President Biden’s onstage tumble... made headlines around the world. But he’s far from the only world leader or political candidate who has taken a highly visible fall. From Chinese leader Xi Jinping (whose 2019 slip commentators dubbed the 'great fall of China') to Gerald Ford (whose fall while disembarking Air Force One in 1975 was the subject of late-night comedy skits) and other politicians around the world, trips and tumbles are fodder for laughs, cringes — and hot takes. When the mighty fall, we just can’t look away. ... But there is also something captivating about politicians appearing more human. ... 'With people in power, there is so much effort to control the public image — body language, speech, facial expressions — that seeing all those things fall away all at once, in a total loss of control, is particularly gripping,' said Dan Stevens, professor of political behavior in the United States and Britain at Exeter University."

One more opinion piece from the Left: Biden, Feinstein, Trump: How old is too old for our leaders? Louis Aronson, Mercury News

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Biden’s Bump in Colorado Boosts Creeping Doubts About His Ability To Serve

  • Democratic leadership should strongly consider the possibility that hitching their wagon to Biden in 2024 is a bad idea.

  • This fall doesn’t seem to have been a big deal in and of itself, but the implication is that Biden isn’t up to the task physically.

  • It’s true that accidents happen, but they also carry greater risk of serious injury at 80 years of age. Biden thankfully dodged a bullet here, but that may not always be the case.

Biden's falls are a serious issue that may hurt Dems — and even the nation Rich Lowry, New York Post Opinion: "Joe Biden’s fall... was a brief event. He tripped, got helped up and walked off under his own power. Sometimes, though, a small thing is fraught with meaning — and with peril. Biden’s stumbles are not minor incidents or a laughing matter. We aren’t talking about a manufactured narrative about President Jerry Ford’s alleged clumsiness, played up on 'Saturday Night Live.' Biden is 80 years old, is in decline and has a stiff, shuffling gait that makes you hold your breath when he’s negotiating stairs or any place with potential obstacles. At his age, once the falls start, they usually don’t stop. Democrats should be thinking long and hard whether this is the vessel they want to ride into 2024 — and to portray as up for performing the job of president of the United States in a second term extending all the way until January 2029."

Biden's Trip and Fall: 'I Got Sandbagged' Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal: "Every political leader has pratfalls, but when they involve an 80-year-old Commander-in-Chief who wants to serve another six years, the moment is more fraught. ... After Mr. Biden’s 2021 physical, his doctor reported that his 'ambulatory gait is perceptibly stiffer and less fluid.' ... The electorate has noticed. Asked if Mr. Biden is in “good enough physical health to serve effectively,” 62% of Americans say no, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC poll. ... That’s despite the White House protecting the President with a minimal schedule. Imagine the nightmare of democracy if next year’s 'October surprise' is another fall that results in a more serious injury. It isn’t unimaginable. Even the then 78-year-old Donald Trump could win a second term as a healthier alternative. Democrats seem to have convinced themselves that they have no choice other than to rally around Mr. Biden... But they may be taking a bigger risk than they think."

One more opinion piece from the Right: The Right Way to Think about Biden's Fall Philip Klein, National Review

FLAG THIS

7 in 10 Say “Yes” To Age Limits for Elected Officials

Polling conducted in August of last year found 73% feel there should be a “maximum age limit for elected officials,” compared with 27% who said “no” to age limits.

The trend holds true across party lines, with 75% of Republicans, 75% of Independents, and 71% of Democrats in favor of age limits.

Interestingly, younger respondents are less likely to prefer age limits (69% for people ages 18 to 29) than older respondents (74% for people 65 and up).

The most common age given for a potential limit is 70 years of age — which was preferred by 4 in every 10 respondents (CBS News/YouGov).

Should there be an age limit for elected officials?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Secretariat Wins Triple Crown, Our Floating Highway, Amazing Amtrak Stops

On This Day in 1973: With a spectacular victory at the Belmont Stakes, Secretariat becomes the first horse since Citation in 1948 to win America’s coveted Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.

Today I learned that as of 2020 less than half of all murders had been solved in the United States.

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