Voters in both

important

parties believe that President Biden is too old to run for re-election. The poll numbers are piling up and are striking.

An Associated Press-NORC poll released

found at the end of last month8/28last week

that 77% of adults in the US

believe said

Biden is too old to be effective for another term

., including That includes

69% of Democrats.

A Wall Street Journal poll produced similar results, plus this tantalizing finding: Only 36% of voters said they consider Biden mentally fit for the job.

You can see that even from the beginning of his presidency until now, there has certainly been some decline and that’s concerning, a Pennsylvania Democrat named Elena said in a focus group for

the “

PBS News Hour

“

last month. (The voters participated

the

condition that their full identities would not be revealed.)

Sarah Longwell, the Republican anti-Trump strategist who moderated the session, said Democratic voters are raising the issue of Biden’s age without being asked.

Age is the first thing they talk about, she said.

I was a little surprised at how deep they were on Biden

” she added. “

We asked them to give him a letter grade, and most were in the low B’s and C’s.

At this early stage in a presidential campaign, opinion polls should be taken with a grain of salt, especially those that purport to predict elections that will take place fourteen months from now.

But the bipartisan misgivings about Biden are too restrained to dismiss.

It may seem unfair that many voters consider Biden too old at 80

20/11/42

but give

former president

Trump something of a pass at 77

06-14-46

. In the Wall Street Journal poll, 46% said they consider Trump better mentally fit for the presidency than Biden, but still not impressive.

One explanation could be that Trump paints an image of manic strength, while Biden sometimes appears hesitant and vulnerable.

Even though he’s a bully, [Trump] he doesn’t falter, he doesn’t mumble, he doesn’t fall down the stairs, said another Democrat in the focus group. Biden does.

Pull back voters’ views, though, and it’s not just Biden’s stiff gait or sometimes muddled speech that are at issue.

Voters their

The core concern remains the economy, for which the president usually gives low marks.

In the AP-NORC poll, only 36% of respondents said they approved of Biden’s economic leadership. That includes 65% of Democrats, a relatively low showing among the president’s base.

At first glance, these figures seem paradoxical. The economy is growing healthily, unemployment is low and inflation, which peaked at 9% last year, has slowed to around 4%.

But in interviews and focus groups, voters do not mention the overall inflation rate

;,;

they complain about persistently high prices for housing, groceries and gasoline.

Voters aren’t feeling the benefits of the economy, Longwell said. They think Biden is too old, and they don’t think he’s doing a good job.

Despite voters’ doubts, it does not appear that any leading Democrat will challenge the president for the nomination, and there are no signs that Biden has considered resigning.

A new book about his presidency, The Last Politician by Franklin Foer

T

Atlantic magazine describes Biden as confident he can win again.

Foer writes that Biden is 53 years old

1970

his political career has taught him a lesson: just after he is dismissed as past his prime, he achieves his greatest successes.

What the president wants most is to prove the establishment naysayers wrong, Foer concluded.

Biden did that in 2020, when he won the Democratic nomination and defeated Trump, and again in 2022, when he led Democrats to unexpectedly good results in the midterm elections.

Can he do it again in 2024, if the time comes

just be ashamed of it

82 on election day?

B. 11/20/42; election is 11/5/24/sw

He has already made a start.

After initially dodging questions about his age

“It doesn’t get through to me,” he claimed this spring

Hi

soon moved on to grapnow jokes

about the.

You say I’m old? I say I am wise, he said

just days later in April

.

His staff has quietly taken steps to protect his health. They’re being more careful to make sure there are no obstacles in his path, like the sandbag he tripped over at the Air Force Academy in June.

His schedule is a little lighter, with fewer evening events, a step that Ronald Reagan also took

as chairman

in his 70s.

But Biden is still relishing his role as chief diplomat, and he appears determined to prove he has the stamina for it. Last week

9/7

he embarked on a grueling journey around the world with stops in India and Vietnam, in just four days.

But

are

foreign travel will not address voters’ key concerns.

There are t

where factors

That

could still help Biden win a second term.

One of these is the economy: inflation appears to be decreasing. If prices level off next year, more voters could give Biden credit for the recovery.

The other is the likely nomination of Trump, whose position in the polls is almost as low.

When Longwell asked Democrats in her focus group how they would vote if their choice came down to Biden

or else

Trump, almost every hand shot up at Biden.

“If Trump is the nominee, they will be more enthusiastic. Not necessarily for Biden, but to keep Trump away from the presidency.

Biden can’t let voters forget that he’s 80 years old and still counting. But maybe he can change the subject and prove the naysayers wrong one last time.