The current debate about which of the two presumptive presidential nominees is showing his age and diminished cognition more is both (a) ridiculous and (b) a reminder of past errors of judgment by voters. Trump’s bombast, fury, tone of voice and yes, even unconstrained cruelty somehow give the misimpression that he is more vigorous than Joe Biden. Biden, in contrast, comes across as normal, calm and somewhat subdued. While these are low-key qualities that contributed to his election after Trump’s four years of wild, screeching bedlam, voters’ memories are short and when the electorate is angry, tranquility may not be viewed as a positive trait. This is aside from their respective diminished capacity problems where, while both garble speeches and mix up foreign (and in Trump’s case, also domestic) leaders’ names and nations, it is clear that Biden’s occasional gaffes and the remaining vestiges of his childhood stutter don’t come close to Trump’s daily bewilderment, garbled vocalizations and increasing inability to express coherent thoughts.
The age issue is absurd because both men are old by any objective standard. In fact, they were already the oldest-ever candidates four years ago, and neither has pulled off a Benjamin Button age reversal since then. That our choice is between two men who are giving Methusaleh a run is yet another indication that we have arrived at a presidential selection inflection point. More on that in a future Rant.
Considering physical health, it is apparent that Biden has lost a step. He walks stiffly and moves more slowly than heretofore. However, he works out, stays slim and, if his doctors’ reports following his annual physicals can be believed, likely does not harbor any age-associated problems such as a propensity to heart attacks or strokes. Trump, in contrast, is obese. He claims to carry around 215 lbs on a 6’3” frame. Actually, he is a blimp, lugging around 265 lbs on a 6’1” body. What we know of his dietary habits—McDonald’s, Diet Cokes and multiple desserts—make him a poster child for risky eating behavior. The odds of either surviving a full term in office are chancy. Even so, Biden’s fundamental good health positions him better to do so despite his greater age.
American voters have a history of being easily gulled by the superficial behavior of their presidential candidates. In 1972, Richard Nixon was viewed as significantly more robust than George McGovern. He talked tough, bolstered by a gruff demeanor where a scowl was his natural affect. McGovern, in contrast, came across as mild-mannered, somewhat cerebral and not always certain that his proposals were absolutely the right ones. The irony was that while Nixon spent World War II playing poker and sunning himself far out of harm’s way on South Pacific beaches, McGovern was piloting B-24 Liberators in 35 combat missions over Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe. Nixon received no medals for his poker prowess. McGovern earned the Distinguished Flying Cross among a slew of other medals for heroism and valor. Who do you think was the real macho man?
In 1980, Ronald Reagan, possibly already at the beginning stages of early-onset Alzheimer’s, was viewed as much the more manly man than Jimmy Carter. He was taller and read his lines with an actor’s certainty. Confused by his war movie canon, he was under the delusion that he had participated in liberating concentration camps in Europe at the end of the war. What he was actually doing was making war movies on Hollywood sets. Carter was part of the nuclear Navy, an incredibly difficult job calling for both a prodigious intellect and steely physical toughness. Once again, voters were duped into pinning labels on candidates that were undeserved and deviated from reality.
Despite having been the youngest Naval aviator in World War II, flying 58 combat missions and being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals and a Presidential Unit Citation, George H.W. Bush was pinned with the undeserved label of being a “wimp.” It was not a good look when Margaret Thatcher admonished him not to go all “wobbly” on her. Bill Clinton, his 1992 opponent and a draft-dodger, suffered little at the ballot box for having avoided military service.
Donald Trump is a unique presidential candidate in that myths about him run rampant. These myths are taken by his supporters to be gospel truths. They are not only limited to misperceptions of his non-existent “tough guy” qualities. Remember, this is the tough guy whose supposed bone spurs did not prevent him from running away from serving his country and who often demonstrates his insecurities about his escape by ridiculing soldiers and their sacrifice.
With Trump, fallacies pervade every aspect of his being. He first ran for president steeped in the chimera of great business success, premised primarily on an unreal reality television show in which he played something he decidedly was not—a successful business tycoon. In real life, he was a colossal business failure, marked by six bankruptcies including four casinos during a time when most other casinos were swimming in money and overflowing with success. He also had to shut down numerous failed businesses that he had wildly misjudged and/or mismanaged. A partial list follows: the United States Football League; the Trump University mega-con; Trump Vodka; the Trump Shuttle; Trump Mortgage LLC; GoTrump.com, a travel business; Trump Steaks; the Trump Foundation scam; Trump-the Game; Trump’s American Pale Ale; Trump Magazine; Trumpnet; Trump Fragrances; and Trump Mattresses. Absent the almost half-a-billion dollars he inherited, he would likely have gone through life sleeping on a heating grate because no one could possibly tolerate him sharing a warming center.
Add to the Trump mix that he has been found by juries to be a defrauder, a sexual predator, a defamer, and soon likely a major criminal, and the image of him as a macho man appears even more laughable.
Dick Hermann
March 2, 2024
The age issue is absurd because both men are old by any objective standard. In fact, they were already the oldest-ever candidates four years ago, and neither has pulled off a Benjamin Button age reversal since then. That our choice is between two men who are giving Methusaleh a run is yet another indication that we have arrived at a presidential selection inflection point. More on that in a future Rant.
Considering physical health, it is apparent that Biden has lost a step. He walks stiffly and moves more slowly than heretofore. However, he works out, stays slim and, if his doctors’ reports following his annual physicals can be believed, likely does not harbor any age-associated problems such as a propensity to heart attacks or strokes. Trump, in contrast, is obese. He claims to carry around 215 lbs on a 6’3” frame. Actually, he is a blimp, lugging around 265 lbs on a 6’1” body. What we know of his dietary habits—McDonald’s, Diet Cokes and multiple desserts—make him a poster child for risky eating behavior. The odds of either surviving a full term in office are chancy. Even so, Biden’s fundamental good health positions him better to do so despite his greater age.
American voters have a history of being easily gulled by the superficial behavior of their presidential candidates. In 1972, Richard Nixon was viewed as significantly more robust than George McGovern. He talked tough, bolstered by a gruff demeanor where a scowl was his natural affect. McGovern, in contrast, came across as mild-mannered, somewhat cerebral and not always certain that his proposals were absolutely the right ones. The irony was that while Nixon spent World War II playing poker and sunning himself far out of harm’s way on South Pacific beaches, McGovern was piloting B-24 Liberators in 35 combat missions over Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe. Nixon received no medals for his poker prowess. McGovern earned the Distinguished Flying Cross among a slew of other medals for heroism and valor. Who do you think was the real macho man?
In 1980, Ronald Reagan, possibly already at the beginning stages of early-onset Alzheimer’s, was viewed as much the more manly man than Jimmy Carter. He was taller and read his lines with an actor’s certainty. Confused by his war movie canon, he was under the delusion that he had participated in liberating concentration camps in Europe at the end of the war. What he was actually doing was making war movies on Hollywood sets. Carter was part of the nuclear Navy, an incredibly difficult job calling for both a prodigious intellect and steely physical toughness. Once again, voters were duped into pinning labels on candidates that were undeserved and deviated from reality.
Despite having been the youngest Naval aviator in World War II, flying 58 combat missions and being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals and a Presidential Unit Citation, George H.W. Bush was pinned with the undeserved label of being a “wimp.” It was not a good look when Margaret Thatcher admonished him not to go all “wobbly” on her. Bill Clinton, his 1992 opponent and a draft-dodger, suffered little at the ballot box for having avoided military service.
Donald Trump is a unique presidential candidate in that myths about him run rampant. These myths are taken by his supporters to be gospel truths. They are not only limited to misperceptions of his non-existent “tough guy” qualities. Remember, this is the tough guy whose supposed bone spurs did not prevent him from running away from serving his country and who often demonstrates his insecurities about his escape by ridiculing soldiers and their sacrifice.
With Trump, fallacies pervade every aspect of his being. He first ran for president steeped in the chimera of great business success, premised primarily on an unreal reality television show in which he played something he decidedly was not—a successful business tycoon. In real life, he was a colossal business failure, marked by six bankruptcies including four casinos during a time when most other casinos were swimming in money and overflowing with success. He also had to shut down numerous failed businesses that he had wildly misjudged and/or mismanaged. A partial list follows: the United States Football League; the Trump University mega-con; Trump Vodka; the Trump Shuttle; Trump Mortgage LLC; GoTrump.com, a travel business; Trump Steaks; the Trump Foundation scam; Trump-the Game; Trump’s American Pale Ale; Trump Magazine; Trumpnet; Trump Fragrances; and Trump Mattresses. Absent the almost half-a-billion dollars he inherited, he would likely have gone through life sleeping on a heating grate because no one could possibly tolerate him sharing a warming center.
Add to the Trump mix that he has been found by juries to be a defrauder, a sexual predator, a defamer, and soon likely a major criminal, and the image of him as a macho man appears even more laughable.
Dick Hermann
March 2, 2024
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