As someone who sympathized and empathized with President Biden, I was relieved when he decided to make way for a younger generation of presidential candidates.
In view of the boundless joy – and relief – that seemed to erupt across the country, I, too, suddenly decided to take a symbolic step toward partial retirement, just in time for this year’s Democratic Party Convention in Chicago.
That thought became even more real as friends and well-wishers gathered at Rainbow/PUSH last weekend to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the organization’s founder, the Reverend Jesse Jackson’s “Rainbow Coalition” speech, in which he outlined themes that would later shape the Democratic Party platform.
I still remember that speech. I was just starting my career at the Chicago Tribune. I didn’t know then that I would later cover the Black Panthers, Harold Washington’s election as the city’s first black mayor, and – among other adventures – the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States.
The Grateful Dead used to sing, “What a long, strange ride it’s been.”
Now the sun seems to have come out and the world reminds me of the theme song from Annie, although I won’t try to sing it for you.
What fascinates me much more is the fact that Donald Trump’s age and health are increasingly coming into focus.
Remember how the former president mockingly offered to accompany Biden to a doctor’s appointment in mid-July to take a cognitive “unit test”?
There is no such talk now. Ironically, Biden’s withdrawal immediately turned Trump’s huge age advantage into a disadvantage. Trump is the oldest presidential candidate in US history. If he wins in November, he will finish his term shortly before his 83rd birthday, making him two years older than Biden is today.
Suddenly, Biden’s age problem has become Trump’s age problem. Will the media and Republican leaders take Trump’s age concerns as seriously as they did with Biden?
I already have – and I am not alone.
Trump called for just that when he gave questions of age and appearance – which have little substance – more airtime than they might otherwise have deserved.
Now that the deeply unpleasant side of Trump’s personality, the school bully, is coming into focus, even his own advisers are recognizing the barely concealed dangers.
Since Harris replaced Biden in late July, her rallies have drawn such large crowds that Trump’s campaign accused her of faking the crowds using artificial intelligence, a notion that has been refuted by the media and other witnesses.
Ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, urged Trump to stop nagging about crowd sizes at Harris’s event and focus on policy instead. Likewise, former primary rival turned supporter Nikki Haley says Trump is unlikely to win by talking about Harris’ race or whether she’s “stupid” – a card Trump has pretty much played to the max through excessive use.
Republican pollster Frank Luntz noted in a CNN interview: “When it comes to substantive issues,” he said, “Trump has a much better chance of succeeding.”
For example, polls by the New York Times and Siena College found Harris ahead by four percentage points in three swing states – Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
And this good news for Harris’ campaign comes – it should be remembered – after the lull that Biden’s campaign experienced before Biden’s resignation.
Trump did not react positively to the decision. He called Harris “evil,” a word he had reserved for people like Hillary Clinton, who is expected to celebrate with her party colleagues at the Democratic Party Convention.
For now, I appreciate Biden’s indefatigable spirit, but I also need a break. I don’t need to be dragged kicking and screaming into retirement. A nice beer and a bratwurst on the beach is enough for me.
But I’m not going to give up journalism. I plan to halve my columns from two a week to one, and if all goes well enough, I’d like to explore some of this new media that my son has been trying to explain to me.
The gadget they call YouTube sounds interesting.
As they always said in the days of old media: stay tuned.
The author is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
