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Age matters

I’ve enjoyed testifying many times in front of Joe Biden, who was a stalwart of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before he became Vice President to Barack Obama. He is well-informed and judicious, even if I have disagreed with him on issues like calling Macedonia Macedonia and whether Serbia merited candidacy for accession to the European Union. Senator Biden was genuinely interested in hearing from witnesses at Senate hearings and treated them with respect.

It is now more than ten years since our last encounter. Neither the Vice President nor I are the same people we were before 2008. He has had the extraordinary experience of governing with Barack Obama, whom I admire even if I think he made terrible mistakes, especially in Syria and Libya. I have become a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, a great international affairs school that allows me to learn every day as much as I teach my students. The world has moved on too. The unipolar moment has ended, the war on terror has failed, and geopolitical competition is intensifying.

Is Joe Biden the right person to install in the White House today?

I was ready for someone a lot younger. It seemed to me that a candidate in their 40s or 50s would appeal more to Gen Xers. My baby boomer generation seems exhausted, not to mention Biden’s “post-war cohort.” But amazingly the competition came down to people who are all in their 70s: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Michael Bloomberg in addition to Biden. Warren and Bloomberg (he dropped out while I was writing this post) aren’t really contenders, but they were still in the race last night.

I don’t really know what to make of this, but the implications need to be examined. Both Sanders (78) and Biden (77) are doubtful for a second term. So the question of who gets the vice presidential nod is more important than usual. In either case it will likely be a woman. Kamala Harris (55) is one obvious choice. Though she didn’t do brilliantly in the race for the nomination, a woman who is smart, an experienced prosecutor, black and (east) Indian, and from California touches a lot of appealing demographics. Amy Klobuchar (59) is another smart, experienced prosecutor from a state that, unlike California, will be in contention, Minnesota.

Another implication is the need for renewal in the Democratic Party. Its flag bearers in the House and Senate are Nancy Pelosi (79) and Charles Schumer (a relatively youthful 69). I admire their experience and skill in managing President Trump, even if the successful impeachment failed in the Senate to lead to remove him from office. Pelosi in particular has repeatedly made the President look like the fool he is. Schumer has also had his moments, especially when he let Trump take responsibility for closing down the US government. But no matter how good a competitor is, passing the baton is a crucial part of any relay race. The older Ds need to make sure it is done well.

There is no lack of youthful talent among the Democrats. The campaign for the nomination showcased not only Harris and Klobuchar, but also their fellow Senator Cory Booker, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Secretary Julian Castro. Andrew Yang, Deval Patrick, and Michael Bennett are also potential future notables, judging from their performances on the campaign trail and in debates. There are lots of others in Congress: Senator Chris Murphy stands out in my mind as someone all but destined for Secretary of State.

On the Republican side of the equation, it is harder to know what to say. There was no lack of younger, truly conservative talent running for the nomination against Donald Trump in 2016, but they split the primary votes, allowing him to win. The conservatives have now mostly thrown in the towel and reconciled themselves to his peculiar brand of egotistical would-be authoritarianism. I can hope Mitt Romney will find the will and the means to rescue the Republican party from the racist and xenophobic cesspool into which it has fallen, but the odds are not good. Now Senator Romney is not a youngster either: 72. It could take a decade or more for the Republicans to recover from Trump, if they recover at all.

Age matters. I’m allowed to say it. I’m 74.