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The Biden Presidency

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Joseph Robinette Biden Junior, shortly becomes the 46th President of the United States of America - after a career of nearly half a century in US politics.

Knowing the wildness of the last 4 years and the scary time at present with COVID, the US Economy being smashed from it and division like never before, this will be a very interesting Administration, that will need to deliver.

And his Inaugural Speech, is expected to further seek unity; particularly with the Democrats having lost House Seats in November and the Senate being level pegging.

Let’s hope the States can be as respected as it once was and help rebuild the most strange age, in recent modern history.
 
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Gloster

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Let us hope that this thread never needs to be as long, weird and unpredictable as his predecessor’s.
 

A Challenge

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Let us hope that this thread never needs to be as long, weird and unpredictable as his predecessor’s.
I wouldn't be surprised if this thread is inactive and locked as Biden disappears from public view after 2024 and there's still stuff to discuss about Trump!
 

birchesgreen

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I wouldn't be surprised if he serves two full terms, seems that everyone seems to think he'll only serve one or even keel over any minute now. If you take a look at his history and career it seems to me you should never underestimate him or write him off.
 

Clip

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Joseph Robinette Biden Junior, shortly becomes the 46th President of the United States of America - after a career of nearly half a century in US politics.

Knowing the wildness of the last 4 years and the scary time at present with COVID, the US Economy being smashed from it and division like never before, this will be a very interesting Administration, that will need to deliver.
It all depends on how you look at the economy as the US stock market was still hitting record highs in December.

Maybe that was because of the election who knows but it's fair to say that it was doing great things before the election too.
 

C J Snarzell

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I wouldn't be surprised if he serves two full terms, seems that everyone seems to think he'll only serve one or even keel over any minute now. If you take a look at his history and career it seems to me you should never underestimate him or write him off.

If Biden does two full terms until January 2029, he will be 86.

I might be wrong but isn't he the oldest appointed president?

CJ
 

birchesgreen

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He indeed is, and will be pretty old by then. Mind you my Mum is 86 now and has more energy and spark than the blond oaf we have as leader.
 

37424

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If Biden does two full terms until January 2029, he will be 86.

I might be wrong but isn't he the oldest appointed president?

CJ
Yes he is the oldest President to take office. I would be sceptical about him serving 2 terms but having said that on his walk up to the white house he seemed lively enough he kept sprinting off to see an NBC reporter and others at the side as he walked up

I always thought Reagan was an old president but even he wasn't quite 78 when he left office, Trump was the oldest to become president before Biden slightly older than Reagan.

Personally I would have a 70 age limit on running for President I would also apply that to Leaders of UK Political Parties at the time of a General Election.
 
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LSWR Cavalier

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I wouldn't be surprised if he serves two full terms, seems that everyone seems to think he'll only serve one or even keel over any minute now. If you take a look at his history and career it seems to me you should never underestimate him or write him off.
I have been expecting Kamala Harris to take over, but Biden is still fit, I read about him going cycling recently, is that usual at his age? Might need more than four years for his Amtrak project too
After eight years as veep, he is one of the best-qualified Potuses
 

nlogax

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Watching the post-inauguration parade with everyone walking the final few hundred yards to WH, and the president peeling off and jogging over to reporters.. first time that's happened in over four years.
 

Journeyman

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The grown ups are in charge again! It's a wonderful surprise to see professionalism, courtesy, statesmanlike behaviour and honesty back in American politics.
 

C J Snarzell

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He indeed is, and will be pretty old by then. Mind you my Mum is 86 now and has more energy and spark than the blond oaf we have as leader.

I can imagine Boris as an 86 year old still with his barnett looking like he's had his hand against an old TV screen. He'll probably be like a Fast Show or Harry Enfield aging character who mumbles to himself and then has an outburst at the carer in his nursing home - ''Starmer you fool, I run this country the way Whitty tells me!''

CJ
 

nlogax

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I can imagine Boris as an 86 year old still with his barnett looking like he's had his hand against an old TV screen. He'll probably be like a Fast Show or Harry Enfield aging character who mumbles to himself and then has an outburst at the carer in his nursing home - ''Starmer you fool, I run this country the way Whitty tells me!''

Weirdly enough someone sent this to me earlier in the week.

An aged Boris Johnson in the year 2035 telling the country 'a few more months and we've got this beat'
 

67thave

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I'd be interested to see if Biden's attempts at unity get anywhere. While he does have (narrow) majorities in the Senate and House, the courts are tilted against him. There's also the factor of many Trump supporters existing who are unwilling to come to the table and negotiate with a person who is either seen as illegitimate or a puppet for other forces.
Let me put it this way - every single Trump flag (and there are quite a few of them) in my neighborhood is still flying, even after what transpired in the past few weeks. Those flags, as well as the beliefs and stances of those individuals, are likely not to disappear into the void anytime soon.
 

RichT54

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I'd be interested to see if Biden's attempts at unity get anywhere. While he does have (narrow) majorities in the Senate and House, the courts are tilted against him. There's also the factor of many Trump supporters existing who are unwilling to come to the table and negotiate with a person who is either seen as illegitimate or a puppet for other forces.
Let me put it this way - every single Trump flag (and there are quite a few of them) in my neighborhood is still flying, even after what transpired in the past few weeks. Those flags, as well as the beliefs and stances of those individuals, are likely not to disappear into the void anytime soon.

Yes, Biden's certainly got a mountain of issues to deal with on all sides, but I definitely wish him well. The US and the world certainly doesn't need Trump II, the sequel.
 

edwin_m

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I'd be interested to see if Biden's attempts at unity get anywhere. While he does have (narrow) majorities in the Senate and House, the courts are tilted against him. There's also the factor of many Trump supporters existing who are unwilling to come to the table and negotiate with a person who is either seen as illegitimate or a puppet for other forces.
Let me put it this way - every single Trump flag (and there are quite a few of them) in my neighborhood is still flying, even after what transpired in the past few weeks. Those flags, as well as the beliefs and stances of those individuals, are likely not to disappear into the void anytime soon.
It's pretty hard to compromise with people that refuse to accept proven facts, or who interpret any olive branch as a reason to demand more olives. Bringing such people on side will indeed be a long haul, helped by prioritising bread and butter issues like the $2000 Covid stimulus that was ultimately proposed by Trump but overruled by Republicans in Congress.

There are also issues that the centrists and what's left of the moderate wing of Republicans favour, giving a clear majority of citizens even if the Trumpists are opposed. For example a quick search suggests that 55% of Republicans and 72% overall think something should be done about climate change.
 

37424

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Err.... why? What's wrong with being old?
I think there are 2 issues physical aspect and mindset.

At 59 I don't have the same mental ability that I had 20 years ago and I'm 19 years younger than Biden, OK some people are fitter than others but for that level of responsibility of running a country at that age not too sure. I was made redundant from a job with a fairly high degree of responsibility a few years ago and while I enjoyed my job I am also now glad I don't have that level of responsibility any more.

Then there is also the question of mindset even pre covid the world was rapidly changing from a world that I knew when I was younger and that comes from someone who was used to working in a rapidly changing sector, do I fully understand the direction the world is going, do I fully understand the direction the younger generation want to take at 59 i'm not sure I do and I expect even less so at 70 or 78.

At would seem Churchill suffered a stroke in his second term of office but in a slower paced less media orientated world of the 1950's and it happening over the summer they managed to keep it quiet.
 
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birchesgreen

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I have better mental ability at 49 than 29, maybe the throughput is less but experience helps me to be more focused on what matters and not to waste energy on what doesn't.

Anyway Biden like all politicians has plenty of advisers and policy gurus, and as anyone who has seen In The Loop knows their average age is about 14.
 

DynamicSpirit

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I think there are 2 issues physical aspect and mindset.

At 59 I don't have the same mental ability that I had 20 years ago and I'm 19 years younger than Biden, OK some people are fitter than others but for that level of responsibility of running a country at that age not too sure. I was made redundant from a job with a fairly high degree of responsibility a few years ago and while I enjoyed my job I am also now glad I don't have that level of responsibility any more.

Then there is also the question of mindset even pre covid the world was rapidly changing from a world that I knew when I was younger and that comes from someone who was used to working in a rapidly changing sector, do I fully understand the direction the world is going, do I fully understand the direction the younger generation want to take at 59 i'm not sure I do and I expect even less so at 70 or 78.

At would seem Churchill suffered a stroke in his second term of office but in a slower paced less media orientated world of the 1950's and it happening over the summer they managed to keep it quiet.

Thanks for the detailed reply. Some of that does somewhat trouble me though.

Firstly, I wonder if you're making too many assumptions based on your own experience of aging. I'm also in my 50s and my experience is much more positive. I'm not aware of any mental decline. I work as a computer programmer and, so far as I can tell, my skills are still improving. Further, a year or so ago I started out of interest re-learning the physics I studied at University, and I've been surprised and pleased to discover that concepts I had a lot of trouble with when I was younger I now find much easier to grasp. I also believe my attitude to life is better: When I was younger, I was pretty unhappy, and generally very angry about things I didn't agree with. Now I'm much more aware that the World is pretty complicated, that there are usually two sides to any disagreement, and that many of the political solutions I (somewhat idealistically) believed in when I was younger wouldn't actually work in practice. I also believe I'm much more relaxed and more ready to consider other points of view than I used to be. Now obviously, I'm not standing for US President or for any similar position, but if I was, I'm pretty sure the 'me' of today would be a much more suitable (or at least, less unsuitable) candidate than the 'me' of 20 years ago would've been. I also don't see any reason to believe that the changes I've experienced are particularly unique, although I suspect they have a lot to do with that I've spent most of my life actively trying to learn and improve myself - something that obviously isn't true of everyone. I also now look after my health and do a lot more exercise than I normally did when I was younger. So it would seem to me pretty strange if, in a very few years' time, I was banned from that kind of position on the basis that I'm somehow mentally unsuitable because of my age.

Granted, it's well documented that most people eventually decline, but as I understand it, that often tends to be a slowing down of some mental processes - it's not a loss of wisdom or intelligence (other than, obviously, if you suffer from particular illnesses such as dementia).

Also, even if there is a decline with age, you have to remember that different people are starting from very different levels of suitability. Compare, say (A) a person with a University degree who spends his/her life contributing to community and seeking to understand society, with (B) someone who spends almost all of his/her spare time getting drunk, watching tv soaps, and who never bothered to get much of an education. Are you seriously going to suggest that person A at 65 or 70 is less suitable to be a leader than person B at 25 or 30? Even if A had declined a bit between 30 and 70, s/he is probably still miles ahead of B in ability and suitability, so it would seem perverse to allow B to stand but not A.

Finally, you mention wanting to understand the direction the younger generation want to take. While that is important, surely you're not suggesting that a leader should be exclusively going where the younger generation wants to go, while ignoring/having no awareness of, what older people are likely to want? Wouldn't a good leader be concerned to represent people of all ages?
 

edwin_m

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Some of Biden's apparent verbal stumbles are because he has to overcome a stutter, and apparently he's been well known for minor gaffes throughout his career. One of the most famous in the UK was to plagiarise a speech of Neil Kinnock, though I read that it was part of his standard stump speech and on one particular occasion he failed to include a credit.

A president can't get involved in the detail so those sorts of skills are less critical - the important things are for them to provide leadership and to build a good team to look after the implementation. With hindsight most people considered Reagan to be a good president despite his well-known laziness ("I've really been burning the midday oil on this one") and the suspicion that his later dementia was already starting to manifest during his term. His prime skill was to be able to empathise with the population, and although there were some big mistakes made during his term they don't tend to be remembered much.
 

takno

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Some of Biden's apparent verbal stumbles are because he has to overcome a stutter, and apparently he's been well known for minor gaffes throughout his career. One of the most famous in the UK was to plagiarise a speech of Neil Kinnock, though I read that it was part of his standard stump speech and on one particular occasion he failed to include a credit.

A president can't get involved in the detail so those sorts of skills are less critical - the important things are for them to provide leadership and to build a good team to look after the implementation. With hindsight most people considered Reagan to be a good president despite his well-known laziness ("I've really been burning the midday oil on this one") and the suspicion that his later dementia was already starting to manifest during his term. His prime skill was to be able to empathise with the population, and although there were some big mistakes made during his term they don't tend to be remembered much.
Most people I know remember Reagan as a pretty terrible president. His laziness allowed a poorly-chosen team to do a lot of things ranging from the stupid, through the corrupt and all the way to outright wicked. He just got lucky by being in charge when the Soviet Union finally imploded
 

37424

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Thanks for the detailed reply. Some of that does somewhat trouble me though.

Firstly, I wonder if you're making too many assumptions based on your own experience of aging. I'm also in my 50s and my experience is much more positive. I'm not aware of any mental decline. I work as a computer programmer and, so far as I can tell, my skills are still improving. Further, a year or so ago I started out of interest re-learning the physics I studied at University, and I've been surprised and pleased to discover that concepts I had a lot of trouble with when I was younger I now find much easier to grasp. I also believe my attitude to life is better: When I was younger, I was pretty unhappy, and generally very angry about things I didn't agree with. Now I'm much more aware that the World is pretty complicated, that there are usually two sides to any disagreement, and that many of the political solutions I (somewhat idealistically) believed in when I was younger wouldn't actually work in practice. I also believe I'm much more relaxed and more ready to consider other points of view than I used to be. Now obviously, I'm not standing for US President or for any similar position, but if I was, I'm pretty sure the 'me' of today would be a much more suitable (or at least, less unsuitable) candidate than the 'me' of 20 years ago would've been. I also don't see any reason to believe that the changes I've experienced are particularly unique, although I suspect they have a lot to do with that I've spent most of my life actively trying to learn and improve myself - something that obviously isn't true of everyone. I also now look after my health and do a lot more exercise than I normally did when I was younger. So it would seem to me pretty strange if, in a very few years' time, I was banned from that kind of position on the basis that I'm somehow mentally unsuitable because of my age.

Granted, it's well documented that most people eventually decline, but as I understand it, that often tends to be a slowing down of some mental processes - it's not a loss of wisdom or intelligence (other than, obviously, if you suffer from particular illnesses such as dementia).

Also, even if there is a decline with age, you have to remember that different people are starting from very different levels of suitability. Compare, say (A) a person with a University degree who spends his/her life contributing to community and seeking to understand society, with (B) someone who spends almost all of his/her spare time getting drunk, watching tv soaps, and who never bothered to get much of an education. Are you seriously going to suggest that person A at 65 or 70 is less suitable to be a leader than person B at 25 or 30? Even if A had declined a bit between 30 and 70, s/he is probably still miles ahead of B in ability and suitability, so it would seem perverse to allow B to stand but not A.

Finally, you mention wanting to understand the direction the younger generation want to take. While that is important, surely you're not suggesting that a leader should be exclusively going where the younger generation wants to go, while ignoring/having no awareness of, what older people are likely to want? Wouldn't a good leader be concerned to represent people of all ages?
I would disagree while I'm not exactly senile approaching 60 it takes me longer to learn things and I don't remember things as well as I used to. Your still a long way from my proposed cut off date the general retirement age in this country is 67 and I believe also the US so why do we have people in their 70's running the country. My proposed cut off would only apply when they tuck office so you would still have people in the early seventies running the country until the next election. In the US it would have only stopped both Trump and Biden taking office and stopped Reagan serving a second term. Of course such a restriction would force the choice of younger candidates if age prevented them serving second terms, and I wouldn't prevent advisors or MP's in this country over 70 although I would probably put an 80 limit on both MP's and Peer's in the House of Lords.
 

edwin_m

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Most people I know remember Reagan as a pretty terrible president. His laziness allowed a poorly-chosen team to do a lot of things ranging from the stupid, through the corrupt and all the way to outright wicked. He just got lucky by being in charge when the Soviet Union finally imploded
I certainly didn't think much of him at the time but I get the impression he's remembered in America with some fondness.

W Bush strikes me as a much weaker president who was manipulated by those around him, and he was sworn in at 54 and left office at 62. I'd suggest it's more about character than age as such.
 

birchesgreen

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Most people I know remember Reagan as a pretty terrible president. His laziness allowed a poorly-chosen team to do a lot of things ranging from the stupid, through the corrupt and all the way to outright wicked. He just got lucky by being in charge when the Soviet Union finally imploded
Bush Senior was president when the USSR collapsed though it has been said Reagan's military spending and Russia's attempts to match it was the final straw for the Soviet Union.
 

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Bush Senior was president when the USSR collapsed though it has been said Reagan's military spending and Russia's attempts to match it was the final straw for the Soviet Union.
Veering OT for a tick....

From what I can quickly skim, there were many factors that played their part in bringing about the Soviet Union's dissolution: Gorbachev's reforms, the cost of the Soviet-Afghan War, the cost of containing and cleaning up the fallout of the Chernobyl disaster (hard to believe that was nearly 35 years ago*) & decades of good old-fashioned ecomonic mismanagement all combining to tip the USSR over the edge & into oblivion. Gorbachev himself is on the record as saying Chernobyl was the final nail in the USSR's coffin, but to what degree is up for debate. It's a contentious topic no matter which way you cut it.
 

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The Senate has passed the $1.9tn relief plan (by 50-49), with a compromise on federal unemployment benefit dropping from $400 to $300 a week:

The US Senate has voted to approve America's third major spending package to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The $1.9tn (£1.4tn) plan passed by 50 votes to 49 on Saturday, and will now head to the House of Representatives where it is expected to be endorsed.

The relief plan has been championed by President Joe Biden as a way to help struggling citizens.

But his Democratic Party compromised on some issues ahead of the vote.

There were long discussions over federal unemployment benefit, which Democrats agreed to lower from $400 to $300 a week. The benefit will be extended until 6 September under the plan.

It envisages stimulus checks worth $1,400 to be sent to most Americans.

America's worst public health crisis in a century has left nearly 523,000 people dead and 29 million infected, with a current unemployment rate of 6.2%.
 
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