“There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief...”—Aeschylus, Ancient Greek Tragedian
When Special Counsel Robert Hur declined to press charges last week against President Joe Biden for mishandling documents following his tenure as vice president during the Obama administration, the decision quickly drew derisive comments from former President Donald Trump and his followers for "bias" since he is facing myriad charges of mishandling classified documents during his own one term in office.
President Joe Biden
While that's not the main idea of today's blog (stay tuned), I would be remiss if I didn't address the proverbial elephant in the room, which is that there's a DISTINCT difference in mishandling documents and cooperating fully with investigators once made aware (as Mr. Biden did), and mishandling documents by showing them off to friends—all the while obstructing the investigation because you believe that you are still the President and entitled to proceed as you wish (as Mr. Trump did). And the previous sentence is not an opinion based on my "feelings," but one based upon over 23 years of law school and work in federal and state courts that power my understanding of the elements necessary to prosecute cases and win convictions!
Now that I've gotten that much out of the way, the main idea of today's blog is a separate elephant in the room, which is the age issue regarding Biden (81) and Trump (77) and the realization that both men are subject to lapses in memory that are proving to be problematic (no matter how their loyal supporters try to spin it).
Fmr. President Donald Trump
Now, only a few weeks after Donald Trump repeatedly confused his Republican challenger, Nikki Haley, with Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Trump and his surrogates have chosen to ignore his own poor memory by poking fun at Special Counsel Hur's report—one which paints Biden as a “friendly but forgetful older man.” Counsel Hur, in outlining his refusal to charge the president with a crime, said, “Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview with him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Duly noted…
While damaging, I understand Counsel Hur's acknowledgment that Biden's memory lapses would hurt any intent elements endemic within criminal charges—because they absolutely would!
And while the most low cunning among Trump's followers made jokes in poor taste about the report saying that Biden couldn't even remember the precise day that his son Beau died, Dr. Charan Ranganath, a professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, opined in a recent New York Times editorial that, "calling up the date that an event occurred, like the last year of Mr. Biden’s vice presidency or the year of his son’s death, is a complex measure of memory. Remembering that an event took place is different than being able to put a date on when it happened, the latter of which is more challenging with increased age."
Duly noted, again…
Simply put, Dr. Ranganath is saying that it's one thing to not recall the specific date of an event, like, when a girlfriend puts her boyfriend on the spot at a dinner party by asking what was the date and/or venue of their very first date—and the boyfriend nervously grins and admits that he can’t quite remember. On the contrary, it's something totally different if the boyfriend can't recall ever having had a first date at all—or even remember the girlfriend’s name!
Dr. Ranganath also opined, “As an expert on memory, I can assure you that everyone forgets.” Duly noted once more! To this point, those who know me well know that I've been blessed since childhood with a fecund memory and lightning quick recall, one that helped me to perform exceptionally well in quiz bowl matches from middle school all the way through college. But while my memory is still razor sharp when it comes to historical dates and trivia, as a now 51-year old man, I do sometimes find myself struggling with names of people (even if I know them by face)—or walking into the kitchen and wondering a few seconds later what I went in there to get 😂. If we are honest, most of us have had such moments a time or two, no matter how good our recall skills still remain!
“No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar…” Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States.
Thus, Dr. Ranganath’s expert opinions, and the objective facts that have been released regarding our current president’s physical and mental health, lead me to conclude that it is wrong to suggest that Joe Biden is mentally unfit to serve simply because he can't recall the exact day that his son, Beau, died. My opinion would be different, and I would certainly call Mr. Biden unfit for service IF he didn’t remember that he ever had a son named Beau—or, knowing that he did, if he truly believed that his long deceased son was still very much alive, then it would be time for the President to go gently into that good night of retirement! But again, that's NOT the case with this President at this time, no matter what his detractors falsely state to the contrary!
Joe and Beau Biden
Separately, I believe that there's a strong anti-age bias among some of our fellow Americans that fails to account for the fact that many septuagenarians and octogenarians are still very aware, knowledgeable, and capable of doing their jobs—even if there's an occasional lapse in memory.
In fact, there's a wealth of institutional knowledge that the elders, including in politics, can bring to the table when dealing with serious issues. It just depends on the person, truly, as one size doesn't fit all—at all—when it comes to memory and quick recall abilities.
I would also add that the American presidency, as an institution, is not a dictatorship, no matter how many presidents have harbored (or harbor) desires of having totalitarian powers. Which means that as we consider voting for Biden or Trump this year, or another pair four years from now, whoever is sworn in as president has thousands of younger advisors and lawyers in the Oval Office, the West Wing, and via think-tanks who help them develop policies, draft executive orders, and make critical decisions as Commander-in-Chief. Ergo, when we make our individual choice for president, ideology and character mean more than personality!
Trust when I say that the issues that mean the most to you as a voter will be dissected, briefed, hashed, and rehashed in a way that a president, regardless of his or her age, can make a decision that aligns with their ideology and character. Lest we forget that in my childhood, Ronald Reagan was already struggling with Alzheimer's and by the end of his second term, his cabinet secretaries, his vice president George H.W. Bush, their advisors, and even First Lady Nancy Reagan were running the Executive Branch on a daily basis during the most fragile and frigid final days of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
President Ronald and de facto President Nancy Reagan
Now, if the Reagan administration could prosper with an almost literal puppet sitting in the Oval Office, a second Biden administration could prosper as well considering that he doesn't have Alzheimer's like Reagan—or any form of dementia—but like ALL of us over 50, from time to time, he forgets a date, a name, or the venue of an event—even when he remembers that the date, the name, or the event took place.
Which, again, means that while many of us may prefer a younger person in the White House, seeing that such choices are not available this year, we must choose based upon which elder will best serve America at home and abroad for the next four years. Our final decision, indeed, will say more about “us” and our values than it will about these two elder statesmen.
Indeed.
👏👏👏💯