CONCORD, N.H. — For those of us who live in New Hampshire — home of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary — the scent of presidential aspirations factors into our air quality index, even if it’s limited to GOP whiffs this year, as the Democrats moved South Carolina into the number one slot for 2024.
I did not vote for Joe Biden in the 2020 primary. I am on record urging Biden not to run in 2024.
But as I was recently listening to the MSNBC “Morning Joe” talking heads singing dirges about Joe's polling numbers and age — he’ll be 82 on Inauguration Day 2025 — I got ticked off.
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
You see, this is not Biden's election, this is not the Democratic National Committee's election, this is my election, your election, our election. I don't give a damn if Biden is 82, 92 or 102. I care about the policies he will focus on as president.
With scant exception, all of the GOP candidates from Donald Trump on down have made their intentions clear: they will methodically erode what is left of our political, social and environmental order. Following precedent, they will deploy their minions to pack our courts and government agencies with an agenda defined by revenge and destruction, eviscerating policies that serve justice, equity, transparency and fairness. Our country and our planet will not recover.
We have a clearly delineated choice in 2024. Biden is our vehicle du jour, but the issues are the driver.
Whenever the issue of age arises, as it inevitably will time and again, voters need to hear the following from Biden in a clear and assured voice:
“Well, I know I’m not getting any younger, but I'm not waging a war on women.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I will not allow members of Congress or governors or state legislators or others to effectively sit in the exam rooms of doctors who are trying to provide safe and effective healthcare.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I’m not lying to you about the urgency of the climate crisis, and I’m not too old to recognize that our hottest summer on record suggests that the climate breakdown may have already begun.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I’m not trying to prevent Black and Brown people, young people or the poor, from accessing the vote.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I will challenge the immorality and injustice of a tax structure that allows the richest corporations and individuals in America to pay less taxes than a plumber or a bus driver.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I support the scientific and medical expertise of our Food and Drug Administration to have the final word on which medicines are safe and effective, like mifepristone.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I believe our children have a right to learn America’s complicated history … being honest with our children and ourselves provides us with a roadmap for repair and unparalleled success.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I view book banning as an assault on freedom of thought and a form of censorship.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I will protect the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I find it terrifying that one out of every 20 Americans own an AR-15. I would support an assault weapons ban.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I believe that the enormous weight of student debt is eating our seed corn and the burden must be reduced.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I will protect the rights of workers.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I refuse to allow protections for child labor, enacted nearly a century ago, to be dismantled.”
“I’m not getting younger, but I am not dismantling the separation of Church and State.”
“I’m not getting younger but I am not a tool of the Federalist Society.”
If Biden stands on these principles, and unequivocally asserts them over and over again in the face of would-be tyrants, the pundits bitching about his age will become irrelevant.
Arnie Arnesen is the host of syndicated radio program "The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen". A former fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics, Arnesen was the 1992 Democratic nominee for governor of New Hampshire and served as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1984 to 1992.
