Did Joe Biden suddenly get younger?
For weeks leading up to his State of the Union speech Thursday night, all the chatter was about how Biden, 81, is much too old for his job.
But Friday, there suddenly seemed to be a shift: terms like “fiery,” “feisty,” and even “energetic” were suddenly being used to describe him.
Indicating, I suppose, that he had a good night.
Despite the apparent wishes of much of the American voting public, we are now marching inexorably to a rematch of the oldest geezers ever to seek the office of president: Biden and 77-year-old Donald Trump.
Advertisement
Biden has taken to characterizing this as a battle for the soul of the country, and he took the same tack Thursday night.
But there was an unexpected wrinkle: as his GOP opposition tried to heckle him, Biden eagerly gave it back to them. If the spectacle wasn’t especially dignified, it was fun to watch. Maybe dignity is overrated.
If the sight of Biden sparring with the opposition seemed like something new, it really wasn’t. As a senator, Biden was never shy about mixing it up, either in hearings or on the campaign trail. He long relished the image of a kid from Scranton ready to take on all comers. The fight he’s in now is different, of course. Different in the sense that even within his own party, there are, shall we say, concerns about whether he is fully up to taking down Trump again.
Along with that, there are the hard political questions about whether a diehard centrist, a man who openly longs for the bipartisan comity of a bygone day, is the right leader for a party that often seems eager to move on.
Biden didn’t bury those concerns in one speech, but even skeptics had to concede that he didn’t sound like a man who needed a nap.
Advertisement
A lot of attention has been paid to Biden’s perceived shortcomings. But you may have noticed that his opponent has his challenges too. Friday morning, Trump posted a gigantic bond, in lieu of paying writer E. Jean Carroll the $83.3 million she was awarded a while back after a jury ruled that Trump had defamed her. Even for the Donald, that is real money.
In the GOP primaries, Trump made quick work of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, gleefully destroying her in state after state. But there are signs that his MAGA movement is bleeding moderate voters. His now-complete takeover of the Republican Party doesn’t guarantee him anything in November.
And, of course, Biden has beaten him before. This election is totally up for grabs.
The focus on age in this election is understandable. But it’s also odd. For one thing, both men are old. And for another, there’s a lot more to worry about in this election than Biden’s next birthday.
What I’m worried about isn’t age, it’s amnesia. I worry that too many people have forgotten the sight of the US Capitol under siege on Jan. 6. I worry that many voters seem to have forgotten — in an instant — Trump’s pledges to go after his political foes (a long list.) I worry that many people have forgotten that this country opposes tyrants like Vladimir Putin — a darling for some in the GOP these days — for an extremely good reason: He’s a monster
Advertisement
Not long ago, Trump held a campaign event in Waco — the home of the Branch Davidians, a cult whose destruction in 1992 made them martyrs to anti-government extremists ever since. According to the New Yorker, Trump’s event kicked off with the Pledge of Allegiance — read, over the phone, by men in prison for crimes they committed during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Their allegiance is to Trump.
Not America, Trump. A man whose fondest dream, it often appears, is to become America’s very own dictator. Somehow, millions of Americans support this.
Over his long political career, Biden has gone from being one of the youngest senators in US history to being our oldest president. Undeniably, the mileage sometimes shows. Thursday night he rallied —— in support of his own candidacy, to be sure, but also in defense of something larger. That being a democracy under siege.
Whether voters will rally for the same cause is the question squarely facing us.
Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at adrian.walker@globe.com. Follow him @Adrian_Walker.