In the wake of Biden’s faltering performance at the debate on June 27, many people wanted him to step down. I was one of them. Since then, the chorus has swelled, with progressive pundits, major media outlets, and big donors telling Joe it’s time to go. It’s easy to come up with reasons why he should.
One is hubris. Biden’s intransigence fuels the stereotype of the selfish older who refuses to yield to his successors. Jill Biden’s quote on the cover of Vogue—“We will decide our future”—is entitled and authoritarian.
Another reason is competence. Age slows. Biden’s lapses have become more frequent. During the debate, he was occasionally incoherent. I felt that ought to disqualify him.
An exchange with my friend Peter Torres Fremlin, who writes the Disability Debrief newsletter, helped me see things differently. For one thing, different camps prioritize different competencies. Trump is incoherent too. His supporters don’t care. Peter also pointed out that “if someone struggles to articulate key political positions, they could rely on preparations or accommodations as support. Or get someone else to do it: why is it necessary for a President to do it themselves? But,” he went on, “either a different approach is needed, or a different person.”
I’m calling for a different approach.
I reject the reasoning that Biden should step down. It’s ableist because it ties the value of a human being to a single model of cognitive function, and anti-communitarian because it’s every man for himself. I also reject its counterpoint, that Biden should double down. I’m not comfortable in either camp.
I don’t want a better candidate. I want a better world. One that offers more options than “step up” or “step down.” One that doesn’t impose false binaries — employed or useless, competent or incapacitated, “independent” or burden — onto the messiness and ambiguities of being human.
Seem unimaginable? Last night, along with hundreds of locals and tourists, I watched a movie in Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore. It was part of the city’s Il Cinema Ritrovato festival. The opening short explained that the festival celebrates older “rediscovered” movies, and showed buckets of olders in attendance. “Never forget,” the narrator said, “that frailty is beauty.” Imagine that.
#bolder #vision #Bidens #America
