BY STEVE FLOWERS
OPINION —
We Americans are going to the polls in five months, to elect the next President of the United States. Election day is Nov. 5.
We are getting set for a rematch between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. Americans are not too enthused to see this replay. I have never seen two candidates with as high negative polling numbers in my lifetime. The old political truism that more people vote against someone than for someone will definitely come into play in this race.
If indeed Biden and Trump are the nominees, you will see the lowest percentage voter turnout in American history come November. Several TV pundits have referred to it as a three-way race between Trump, Biden and the couch, and the couch is going to win.
The Republican National Convention is July 15-18 in Milwaukee, and they will officially nominate 78-year-old Trump as their nominee for the third time. The Democrats will coronate Joe Biden, the 82-year-old octogenarian, as their nominee at their convention in Chicago Aug. 19-22. The only competitive betting odds are not whether Biden will be the nominee, but it is probably 50/50 as to whether he makes it to Aug. 22.
To say that Biden and Trump are the two oldest people running against each other for president is a bygone conclusion. Probably second place competitors would be decades younger at least. People age differently in life. Biden appears to be the one affected the most adversely by his advanced age. He is obviously the one who looks and acts his age. In fact, his age and diminished capacity are the underlying reason he is underwater in the polls. When you look at his policies or issues, or at least those of his handlers, his administration has embraced the actions a liberal deficit spending Democratic president is expected to enact. His Achilles’ heel, among his own Democratic base, which are younger than the Republican base, are his demeanor and senility. Democratic voters like “old Joe,” but do not want to see him in the White House supposedly leading the Country. They think to themselves, “Bless his heart, old Joe looks like my great-grandfather that should be running for President of his Delaware nursing home, rather than President of the United States.”
I really do not think he knows where he is or what meeting or country they have taken him to. It would be comical, but other nations and world leaders see this and chuckle at our nation’s decrepit leadership. The senility of Biden would not be so devastating if we did not have a nuclear bomb capability. I am afraid he will roll out of bed from his afternoon nap and hit the button by accident. As one senator recently quipped, “I wouldn’t trust Biden with my TV remote control, much less the red button that could trigger Armageddon.”
Trump is better cognitively than Biden, but most independent voters have thought he was crazy all along. A good many Republican voters think he is, too. They just like his policies as a very Republican president. Trump is considered a clown by most Americans. They still see him as a reality TV show celebrity actor. Recent scenes of him on the golf course reveal that he has a girth similar to William Howard Taft. Therefore, his actuarial timetable might not be much better than that of Biden.
This race will be a real comedy show. It will be fun to watch two octogenarians perform. It will be like a circus. It will be interspersed with kangaroo courts in New York, Washington D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia. If the side show in Atlanta actually occurs, it will really be something to behold and will help Trump be elected.
These silly indictments are so transparently, politically orchestrated that it has angered the Republican base to rally behind Trump. This Democratic ploy has backfired. Every time one of these cases occurs, it explodes the enthusiasm of the Republican base. Remember, more people vote against someone than for someone. The GOP base is more enthused with Trump than Biden’s base is for him.
It will be a fun show. How many of you have seen the movie, Weekend at Bernie’s?
See you next week.
Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at steve@steveflowers.us.
