Bench Depth

Here’s the thing. Democrats are running an elderly candidate for President, the sitting President. At the time decisions were made to do this I complained this was not good. A younger person should have been groomed for the primary. Biden has been a good President and would, I think, continue to be so. However, the possibility of incapacity or death of a person Biden’s age, simply is not worth the risk.

On the other side, Republicans are still allowing Trump to run for a second term against Biden. Trump is nearly as old as Biden, so age ought not be the issue. But it is. Because Republicans make it so. Gazing back on their own candidate, Trump, age has not been made an issue, but it should.

The Republicans, however, have several candidates fighting for the party nomination. The sentiments are so strong for Trump; however, it is very unlikely that anyone will be the party’s nominee other than Trump.

Analyzing the issues, Democrats have the Republicans beat by a mile. The MAGA creed has proven to be a poor one. There may be solidarity among the MAGA cult, but it is not shared by others throughout the land. The legal problems bedeviling Trump currently will likely make him ineligible to be on the ballot, but the complexity of the process may not be settled in time to keep him off the ballot. In the meantime, others continue to campaign for the primary.

Political issues on Biden's side are much stronger and logical. The American people do support these issues. However, so much is being made of age and its infirmities, Biden’s chances for victory are in question.

The overwhelming logic of the political question should make this a no brainer. Biden should be retained because he has a solid record of holding the nation together and managing the economy and host of other issues all at the same time. Trump’s position is a weak one based on his performance while in the White House. His history of change and chaos is clear; that is not a positive but rather a negative. Governance under Trump was a solid mess. The many working parts of our society and government were challenged to maintain order. Progress was not obtained.

However, there is another way of analyzing the current political situation: depth of the bench of other candidates. Both parties have few people of credible experience to be worthy candidates. Some have a lot of potential, but both parties have not actively groomed possible successors. If ever there were an opportunity for a successful third party, it is now. Put forth a strong candidate to oppose both Trump and Biden, the outcome would not be surprising. Americans want stability and work toward solutions of our problems. We also expect international relations to be managed in such a way as to maintain peace and improve cooperation and progress.

Presidential candidates are not the only issue. Congress poses its own existential conundrum. They have collectively produced little output in recent years. Meanwhile serious problems go unsolved and poorly addressed. Politically scrambled rhetoric, yes; solutions, no.

Both parties have a succession issue. It is high time that they put forth the effort to address this issue. We need experienced, talented people to populate our government's structure, not mindless idiots who know very little about the issues that truly matter.

Time is running out on this issue. When will either or both parties do something about it?

December 22, 2023