If I were a relative or close friend of President Biden, I’m sure I would hug him, thank him for his service, and tell him to seriously consider leaving.
I will tell you that after a lifetime of service, he can pass the torch with pride, with dignity, and with grace.
Someone had to do it a few months ago, out of love or duty, and out of concern that Biden’s health would deteriorate in the years to come.
But we’re not very good at this – to summon the courage it takes to face down a loved one or boss and be honest about it. Be polite but firm. I had trouble telling my own father it was time to give up driving. He refused, did not understand or refused to accept the fact of obvious shakiness behind the wheel, and refused to give up the button or pride.
California is about to hit a wave of aging population, and Steve Lopez is riding it. The column focuses on the blessings and burdens of age — and how some people are challenging the stigma associated with parenthood.
According to many accounts, people close to Biden were aware of the decline but did not pressure him to step down. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that in the “weeks and months” before last Thursday’s presidential debate, “some current and former officials and others who met with him behind closed doors noticed that he was increasingly confused or uncomfortable, or that he would lose the thread.” conversation.” There are also reports that people are encouraging them to keep going.
There are some analogies to California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who died last year at age 90 after more than 30 years in office. If any attempt was made to persuade him to leave the Senate due to his obvious cognitive and physical decline, the attempt failed. He died in office after announcing he would not run again.
In some cases, moving is the right thing to do.
This may sound strange to those who have been following the Golden State column for the past 28 months. One of our driving principles is to remain against the notion that we cannot contribute as we age, or that our value diminishes.
In a recent column, I have shown, with the help of experts, that you cannot diagnose dementia from a distance, although many people tried to do so in the case of Biden, especially after his debate performance.
I’ve also written that whatever is causing the foggy vision and occasional slurred speech (most likely medical), Biden seems lost and unstable. He may still have some gas in the tank, but time is against him. A year from now, two, three or four, how about that?
The world’s population is aging rapidly, and more people are staying in work longer – and while the benefits are many, the risks are real. Body and mind are broken. It’s OK, when they do, to punch out and move on.
Since the debate, I’ve been thinking about what USC gerontology professor Caroline Cicero said last year, when I wrote about whether Biden or Feinstein should step aside.
“I’m very concerned about ageism in the workplace, but I’m also concerned about people who think they have to work forever,” Cicero said. “Giving people permission to retire is the right thing to do.”
He picked up on this week’s line of thinking.
“In the last decade, society has told us that we can have everything. In the fight against ageism, we tell people that they can work for a long time,” he said. “In the fight to prove ourselves, we say that we can overcome the normal slowdown that occurs with time.”
But most of us can’t.
Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney, each north of 80, still hold the song, and Warren Buffett, at 93, looks good. But here’s the thing about getting old, as I’ve said before: You can be old at 60 and young at 85.
Biden has clear strengths, especially his experience, wisdom, decency, decency and empathy that have led to losses. It is possible that those who are inside, knowing what they are made of, cannot question their strength and determination, despite their obvious setbacks. Of course, his family knows him better than we do, but they may not be able to see what we see from a distance.
Some of you may be thinking, now, that I’m all about frank discussions about knowing when it’s time to leave, so how come I’m not bringing the Trump family into this.
I will, but the job is harder than the Biden family. What’s the point of saying to a convicted felon who continues to insist he won the 2020 election, “Hey Pop, your fact checkers are still recovering from the training they gave you at the last debate”? It takes humility to see the truth about yourself, and when you start listing the defining qualities of Donald Trump, humility and truth won’t cut it.
Former President Trump, who debated Biden last week, would be more than happy to heed the suggestion to leave the race.
(Gerald Herbert/Associated Press)
Biden may be having trouble seeing himself as he is now — a public servant at the top of the flow chart. You can’t be president of the United States without a healthy ego, and in a job that people love – that is their identity – they often can’t imagine what or who they can retire from, if they can afford it. to retire, which many cannot.
These people probably couldn’t imagine having someone waiting in the wings as they did, and that may have been part of Biden’s calculations. If he takes out next, who will take his place? And will there be enough time for Vice President Kamala Harris or other late-stage candidates to find traction?
Never came this far.
At the end of the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explained the heart as Exhibit A for the lesson in price stubbornly holding. She refused to give up her position because her health was deteriorating, and women’s reproductive rights were suffering.
“I see it with entrepreneurs who build businesses and have a hard time letting go,” says Helen Dennis, who started a support group called Renewal – a combination of the words “renewal” and “retirement” – 25 years ago for successful women in trouble. imagine the next version of yourself. The group now includes “teachers, nurses, doctors, some lawyers,” all cheering each other on as they learn “how to navigate the next chapter.”
Work is not life, and life is not work, USC’s Cicero told me. This is definitely a foreign concept for a sitting president, but I think former President Jimmy Carter is one of the best examples of people who have found ways to contribute after leaving office. He picked up a hammer and went to work for Habitat for Humanity – and he won the Nobel Peace Prize for working on peaceful solutions to world conflicts.
“People often fear retirement because they don’t want to be labeled as old, invisible or insignificant,” Cicero said. And many people who are “addicted to the routine do not know how they will spend their time without a strict work schedule,” he added – but “it does not mean that they have to keep working in order to live comfortably.”
Biden, after a debate stumble, hurried back to the stump, telling supporters that if you lose, you get back up and keep fighting.
But Father Time, as they say, is the one who doesn’t lose.
I will remind Biden that the country and the world have no problems, nothing can be fixed and Trump, and if he is re-elected, he will be subjected to four more years of continuous judgment about his fitness to hold office.
I will tell you that, at 81, when you lose, you get a break.
And there is no shame.
steve.lopez@latimes.com
