Rashee Sanook

volver

Of course.

So it's not age that's the problem, its cognitive decline. In which case, can we stop saying he's too old for the job?

Honestly, it's like watching ferrets squirm in a sack.

Unpleasant comment.

I do realise that one or two seem to delight in saying the opposite to most, on every subject there is, but it is so obvious that Mr Biden physically and mentally is not best placed to be in charge of the most powerful country on Earth.

This is a thread that was started in order to be unpleasant.

If the objective was to express concern for a politician we believe to be ill, then I take it all back.

But my belief is that it was started to poke fun at an older person. To try to say that they are unsuitable for a job, and that their wife should be taking care of them, because they can't take care of themselves. To have a laugh at someone else's expense, and to present the opportunity to call them names.

Perhaps Biden is suffering from cognitive decline - like I said above, not my place to diagnose anybody. And certainly not my place, or anybody else's here, to call him "too old" for the job and not expect to be admonished for it.

Certainly not when we have a recent Head of State who was in post until the age of 96 and a new one starting aged 74. Maddyone seems to be the only person willing to speak about that. Let's have that discussion.

It’s also a diversion from what is happening in the U.K. Also probably due to to Biden making his views on the NI protocol quite clear ie he’s just a doddery old fool and his views regarding the upholding of international law are worthless.

The late Queen was not in a position to have a finger poised on the nuclear button.
In fact bringing up the Queen and trying to compare her role with that of an old President of the US is questionable.
I do not believe this thread was started to be unpleasant at all nor to poke fun, but for a genuine reason that many are rather concerned about. The President is such a powerful position,
Unlike either Royalty here or indeed our PM.

So, any recommendations for an upper age limit? Anyone?

Maybee there are many diversions as you call it, that can be used to distract from what is happening in politics in the UK, the most compelling being the terrible acts of war by Putin taking place in Ukraine.That does not negate from people being aware that Mr Biden is wrong for his position.It was a rock and a hard place at the last US elections, and Mr Biden fortunately beat Mr Trump, but really many people were aware he was too old and had physical frailty and a wandering mind.It happens to the best of us with age, but there should have been a better and younger candidate in place.

I would say that 70 is a good upper age limit for an incoming President, or Prime Minister.

That’s Churchill out then.

With age comes experience. But yes, there is a lower age limit for Presidents.

Some people can be intelligent but fail to get names right, pronounce them wrongly or mix words up.
Some people utter spoonerisms, mondegreens etc.

It must be difficult for stammerers to get to grips with unusual words or names too.

Prentice

Maybee there are many diversions as you call it, that can be used to distract from what is happening in politics in the UK, the most compelling being the terrible acts of war by Putin taking place in Ukraine.That does not negate from people being aware that Mr Biden is wrong for his position.It was a rock and a hard place at the last US elections, and Mr Biden fortunately beat Mr Trump, but really many people were aware he was too old and had physical frailty and a wandering mind.It happens to the best of us with age, but there should have been a better and younger candidate in place.

That's a really shocking and discriminatory post.

It’s about being fit for the job whatever the age. However cognitive decline is sadly more prominent amongst older people, with your chances increasing with age. Biden does seem to be showing some signs as the op points out. Is he running the country or a backup team? I suspect the latter.

Churchill was indeed too old and made many mistakes, which were known about but kept quiet about at the time.There is nothing to say that another PM would not have done an excellent job during the war years.Churchill could have had a job in the Cabinet and given his advice.Certainly the people of this country did not want him back in his role when the war ended.Although strangely they did want him in the election after that one in the early 1950’s and voted Labour out.
However, we are talking about now, and an upper age limit to be PM or President strikes me as a good idea.

Volver as you would say yourself ‘Aye, right!’

Prentice

Churchill was indeed too old and made many mistakes, which were known about but kept quiet about at the time.There is nothing to say that another PM would not have done an excellent job during the war years.Churchill could have had a job in the Cabinet and given his advice.Certainly the people of this country did not want him back in his role when the war ended.Although strangely they did want him in the election after that one in the early 1950’s and voted Labour out.
However, we are talking about now, and an upper age limit to be PM or President strikes me as a good idea.

You are on very dodgy ground. Gladstone, Palmerston and others I’m sure were over 70 too. It’s ageist to say people are incapable of being a leader after 70, and that’s no better than discriminating on grounds of sex, race or sexuality.

Except Casdon the fact is, I did not say those words.
There will be some older people who are quite remarkable as to clarity of mind, a brain which works sharply as ever, but they are well in the minority.When it comes to people being in real positions of power within a nation, I do think an upper age limit is a good idea.We are just speaking of ideas now, it is hardly going to happen.
At 81 I know that I could not be in any kind of top job, and this is no ageist thing at all, but simply a matter of health.
It is unfair for 50 and 60 year olds to be discriminated against for certain jobs that they certainly could do, but after that it is completely understandable.

It depends on the state of someones health, regardless of age.

Prentice

I would say that 70 is a good upper age limit for an incoming President, or Prime Minister.

Yes, I’m afraid you did say those words.

No, I did not say that anybody over 70 is incapable of the job.
I hate to be a pedant but there you are.
There will be some that age and over who are capable in every way, but my suggestion of the cut off age for a President or a PM of a country of age 70 is to prevent anyone either becoming not so capable shortly after, or of being so at the time and it is hidden.

If 70 is the upper age limit you would allow you are discriminating. I’m sorry too, but there it is.

My view is that if somebody is showing signs of dementia, senility, forgetfulness on a serious scale and they are in a position of power which could affect many countries detrimentally then really should that person be allowed to carry on? For his sake and our own? If it is a proven fact.

Firstly I would like to say that I have absolutely not called Biden any names. In fact I’m not sure anyone has. Certainly posters have speculated about his ability to do his job given his age. We have seen evidence on our television screens of some of his confusion. If he was a nice older man, doing his garden, and playing with his grandchildren no one would think anything about it, but he’s running the most powerful country in the world. And that has to be a worry. It’s not his age but his cognitive ability. It’s true there can be problems in that department in younger people, but we all know that cognitive ability declines with age. It’s a fact, not an opinion. That’s why many care homes are filled with people whose cognitive abilities have declined to the extent that they can no longer look after themselves, and they are in the main, older people. That’s where the phrase I’m having a senior moment comes from. Joe Biden is certainly not at that stage, but he may be having a few too many senior moments to be the leader of the free world.

I agree with maddyone, yes, it is worrying but with the proviso that I did know someone who could not get names right even though they were intelligent, compos mentis and had full cognitive abilities.

It was a quirk and I admit we used to have a laugh about it afterwards but she wasn't so-called leader of the free world.

In fact I’m not sure anyone has. (called him names)

Sleepy Joe. Page one.

Oh, apologies. I missed that.