No one of any normal demeanor, which leaves out much of the Democratic Party, wishes any physical ill upon anyone running for office.
Oppose their political success? Of course, but some things should and must stop at a certain point.
However, that does not mean a person’s fitness for office can not be judged.
Democrats and the press always asked about Ronald Reagan’s age in an unkind way.
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His debate retort to Walter Mondale on that question is legendary.
There are those in today’s press and the hard left who have asked it, and have also provided a response to their own question, of President Trump.
But as Trump is now the youngest man who has a realistic shot at being president next year, the shoe is on the other foot when it comes to Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden.
Bernie Sanders had a mild heart attack in October. That health issue does not seem to have slowed him down at all or affected his mental clarity past the obviously corrosive effects of his socialist ideology.
The case seems different for Joe Biden, and the question can be posed: Could Biden navigate the pressures of the presidency while retaining his full mental capacities? One would hope any American president, including Biden if he were elected, would be in full health.
But the hard left and Sanders supporters have wondered whether Biden is having issues with mental acuity. They may not be barking up the wrong tree.
Biden’s gaffes and his memory lapses seem comical at times. Yet they have been consistent and at times strange.
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He has misnamed people, forgotten locations, and misquoted easy citations. These episodes do not bode well for a potential president.
And the country has been down this road before with its worst president.
Woodrow Wilson was a bed-ridden physical and mental invalid his last two years in office. His wife and his top aide ran the nation during his illness.
If this question was deemed proper to ask of Reagan and Trump then it is proper to ask of Biden.
One hopes for an answer that speaks of Biden’s full competence to be president if he were to win the election. But either way, the question still should be asked.
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