Democrat de facto nominee Joe Biden has taken to wearing a mask recently to public events. That was likely urged on him by pros to contrast with the charge (since disproven) that the president did not wear a mask during his recent tour of a Ford automobile plant in Michigan. Bill Ford, great grandson of Henry Ford and chairman of the board of the company, verified the president did indeed wear a mask during the majority of his time at the plant.

What Biden is trying to do is adhere to an image of a kind, obedient, and conscientious leader while portraying the president as an arrogant buccaneer who throws caution to the wind. But as Biden wore his mask, some noticed something else about his presentation.

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It was not a verbal gaffe, though they come so regularly now they aren’t seen as the bombshells they once were. It was in his physical manner. The former vice-president walked haltingly, his body language was a bit odd, his face looked stretched and frozen. It made some ask: Can he hack it? Can he withstand the physical and mental strain and challenge of a modern run for the presidency? And if he can’t, what is the alternative for the Democrats?

A candidate’s life can be a hard one of fatigue borne of little rest, a bad diet, and constant demands on personal time. As a political consultant for two decades I saw my clients and scores more deal with the non-stop merry-go-round of events. The fast food, the hurried handshakes, little time with family, the shuttling in an instant from one venue to another, the pressure to talk to donors, staff, the press, and volunteers on an hourly basis can weigh on a person. There was a time in my youth when I thought I wanted that life. After running my first campaign I never thought of it again. And then, there’s the ravages of age.

Joe Biden is 77 years old. We live in a nation run by those we usually speak of as elderly. Bernie Sanders is 78, the president is 73, Michael Bloomberg is 78, and Nancy Pelosi is 80. GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy, at 55, is a relative toddler and one of the few national figures that as of yet does not qualify for social security. Now while age in itself does not qualify as a disability, the superb and victorious Ronald Reagan was 69 when elected and also the oldest man inaugurated—President Trump beat that record, and Joe Biden will be 78 if sworn in to office. That is considerably older than President Trump.

There are those who say, and this analyst is among them, that President Reagan lost a couple of steps here and there in his second term. Well, if elected Joe Biden will almost be older in his first term than Reagan was when he finished his tenure in office. If he seems to be frail or weak now, if the thinking is a little cloudy (though, that may just be Biden and have nothing to do with his age), if the walk and manner are hesitant, then can he effectively campaign in the knock-down drag-out fight he will have on his hands with Donald Trump, much less govern after he may win that fight?

The jury is still out on that and could come back in Biden’s favor. But until that eventuality for Biden comes to pass, he will have to show he has what it takes. If not, not only the Democrats but the country could suffer for it.