PRESIDENTS DAY WEEKEND. WE’LL SEE YOU AT FOUR. THIS IS A WCVB CHANNEL FIVE EDITORIAL SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD, WCVB PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER KYLE GRIMES. LAST WEEK, A SPECIAL COUNSEL’S REPORT WAS RELEASED, CONCLUDING THAT PRESIDENT BIDEN SHOULD NOT BE PROSECUTED FOR RETAINING AND SHARING CLASSIFIED INFORMATION BEFORE HE BECAME PRESIDENT. NOTHING IN THE REPORT SHOULD HAVE COME AS A SURPRISE. LAST SUMMER, THE SAME FINDING WAS MADE REGARDING FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE, THE HEADLINE GRABBER, HOWEVER, WAS THE SPECIAL COUNSEL’S GRATUITOUS DESCRIPTION OF PRESIDENT BIDEN AS A, QUOTE, SYMPATHETIC, WELL MEANING ELDERLY MAN WITH A POOR MEMORY. THE SIMPLE FACT IS, AMERICANS DON’T NEED A SPECIAL REPORT TO REMIND THEM THAT AT 81, MR. BIDEN IS ALREADY THE OLDEST SITTING PRESIDENT IN HISTORY. NOR ARE AMERICANS UNAWARE OF HIS HALTING MOVEMENT. SLOW SPEECH, HIS FLUBS AND HIS FAULTY RECALL IN PRESIDENT BIDEN. AMERICANS GET EXACTLY WHAT THEY SEE AN INCREASINGLY FRAIL 81 YEAR OLD WITH DECLINING. ENERGY AND MEMORY AND ONE WHO HAS HELD OFFICE WITH AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO THE FUNDAMENTALS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, AS WELL AS THE SECURITY OF OUR CLOSEST ALLIES IN BIDEN’S LIKELY OPPONENT, FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP. AMERICANS ALSO GET EXACTLY WHAT THEY SEE A 77 YEAR OLD MAN WHO, WHILE FACING 91 FELONY CHARGES, OVERTLY THREATENS THE RULE OF LAW AND NATO ALLIES ALIKE. NOT SURPRISED A RECENT POLL FINDS A LARGE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS, FULLY 86%, THINK MR. BIDEN IS TOO OLD TO SERVE ANOTHER TURM. THE SAME POLL FINDS. 62% OF AMERICANS THINK DONALD TRUMP IS ALSO TOO OLD. TO SERVE BOTH CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR THE WORLD’S TOUGHEST JOB ALREADY EXCEED THE AVERAGE US MALE’S LIFE EXPECTANCY. TWO THINGS CAN BE TRUE AT THE SAME TIME. AND WHILE WE CAN WISH FOR YOUNGER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES, OUR CURRENT REALITY PRESENTS US WITH A CRITICAL, MOMENTOUS, AND STARK CHOICE. IT’S BEEN SAID THAT LOOKS AREN’T EVERYTHING. NEITHER IS AGE. AND THAT’S NEVER BEEN TRUER THAN NOW. SEND COMMENTS TO E
Editorial: February 16, 2024: Age and The Presidency
When it comes to electability, actions should speak louder than numbers.
Updated: 12:38 PM EST Feb 16, 2024
Last week, a special counsel’s report was released concluding that President Biden should not be prosecuted for retaining and sharing classified information before he became president. Nothing in the report should have come as a surprise. Last summer, the same finding was made regarding former vice-president Mike Pence. The headline grabber, however, was the special counsel’s gratuitous description of President Biden as a, quote, “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” The simple fact is, Americans don’t need a special report to remind them that, at 81, Mr. Biden is already the oldest sitting president in history. Nor are Americans unaware of his halting movement, slow speech, flubs, and his faulty recall. In President Biden, Americans get exactly what they see; an increasingly frail 81- year-old with declining energy and memory. And… one who has held office with an unwavering commitment to the fundamentals of American democracy, as well as the security of our closest allies. In Biden’s likely opponent, Former President Donald Trump, Americans also get exactly what they see: a 77-year-old-man, who while facing 91 felony charges, overtly threatens the rule of law and NATO allies alike. Not surprisingly, a recent poll finds a large majority of Americans—fully 86%—think Mr. Biden is too old to serve another term. The same poll finds 62% of Americans think Donald Trump is also too old to serve. Both candidates running for the world’s toughest job already exceed the average U-S Male’s life expectancy. Two things can be true at the same time. And while we can wish for younger Presidential candidates – our current reality presents us with a critical, momentous, and stark choice. It’s been said that looks aren’t everything. Neither is age. And that’s never been truer than now.
NEEDHAM, Mass. — Last week, a special counsel’s report was released concluding that President Biden should not be prosecuted for retaining and sharing classified information before he became president. Nothing in the report should have come as a surprise. Last summer, the same finding was made regarding former vice-president Mike Pence. The headline grabber, however, was the special counsel’s gratuitous description of President Biden as a, quote, “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The simple fact is, Americans don’t need a special report to remind them that, at 81, Mr. Biden is already the oldest sitting president in history. Nor are Americans unaware of his halting movement, slow speech, flubs, and his faulty recall.
In President Biden, Americans get exactly what they see; an increasingly frail 81- year-old with declining energy and memory. And… one who has held office with an unwavering commitment to the fundamentals of American democracy, as well as the security of our closest allies.
In Biden’s likely opponent, Former President Donald Trump, Americans also get exactly what they see: a 77-year-old-man, who while facing 91 felony charges, overtly threatens the rule of law and NATO allies alike.
Not surprisingly, a recent poll finds a large majority of Americans—fully 86%—think Mr. Biden is too old to serve another term. The same poll finds 62% of Americans think Donald Trump is also too old to serve. Both candidates running for the world’s toughest job already exceed the average U-S Male’s life expectancy.
Two things can be true at the same time. And while we can wish for younger Presidential candidates – our current reality presents us with a critical, momentous, and stark choice. It’s been said that looks aren’t everything. Neither is age. And that’s never been truer than now.
