America needs a younger president

I was in Hawaii, Washington State, Texas, Florida, and New York a couple of days ago for a lecture tour and a meeting with Filipino communities in the western, eastern, northern, and southern parts of the US led me to make two quick conclusions. First, that the American political pot is starting to heat up, and second, it is the consensus among whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians that the US needs a younger, more dynamic, and stronger president. I am inclined to concur.

Joe Biden is quite good, although not as excellent as fellow Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt and not as popular as John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama. In so many ways, Biden is definitely, far better than Donald Trump in almost all aspects, except perhaps the economy. But in terms of integrity, honesty, transparency, and forthrightness with the American people, Biden is much, much better than Trump by leaps and bounds. But he is too old with physical weaknesses and intermittent memory lapses. Born on November 30, 1940, President Biden will be 82 by November 5, 2024, the next US presidential elections. He was the oldest to ever assume the US presidency at age 78. The urgent needs of the times call for a younger and more energetic, faster American of either gender, preferably from Generation X, or even millennial.

The 26th American president, Theodore Roosevelt, an exceptional Republican, was only 42 in 1901 when he took office. John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, was only 43 in 1961 when he became the 35th US president. Bill Clinton, a Democrat, was only 46 in 1993 when he was elected the 42nd American president. Barack Obama, Democrat, was only 47 in 2009 when he took his oath as the 44th.

Democrat presidents are known for being younger than the Republican presidents. Trump, a Republican, was 70 in 2017 when he ascended the White House as the 45th president. Ronald Reagan, Republican, at 69, was already considered too old in 1981 when he was elected the 40th US president. No one was elected president in his eighties. Biden made history as the oldest at age 78 when he took office. If he wins reelection in 2024, he will be making history again.

President Biden is being challenged within his party by fellow Democrat Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., son of the famous brother of President JFK whom the latter appointed as attorney-general and was running to replace his more popular brother. But both brothers were assassinated one after the other. In his campaign announcement video, Kennedy said, "we will scale down the war machine and bring our resources home. We will rebuild our water systems, repair our roads, modernize our railroads, and clean up our environment. We will also clean up the government and earn back the people's trust. We will end the secrecy, the censorship, and the surveillance." The problem with Kennedy is that he will also turn 70 in 2024. The Democrats are running out of young potential presidential candidates.

If Trump is going to win the Republican primary, which is quite unlikely due to his numerous legal indictments, then Biden may find himself in a tight race with the super-billionaire Trump. The polls, when I was there, showed that the two will be running neck-and-neck. Despite the undesirable traits of Trump, since Americans usually vote according to party affiliations, Trump may even beat Biden. The blue states that are sure to go. The Democrat states are California, Hawaii, Washington State, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, Virginia, New Jersey, and all the rest of the eastern New England states. On the other hand, Texas and Florida and all the middle states are going red for Trump.

But if Ron Desantis, Mike Pence, Chris Christie, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, or even a man of Indian descent Vivek Ramaswamy (he is too young at 37) of the Republicans could win over Trump in their primaries, then America may get a younger president in 2024. But if it is going to be Trump versus Biden again, my good friends in America will swallow the bitter pill of voting for an 82-year-old Joe Biden again. Older but much better.