Back in 1972, when Kamala Harris was starting third grade and Joe Biden was a 29-year-old New Castle County councilman, Delaware Sen. Cale Boggs, a Republican, was running for a third term. Young Joe decided to challenge him, and to make the centerpiece of his campaign not the issues of the day, but Boggs’ age. The incumbent senator, Biden insisted, was too old and out of touch to be an effective public servant. The people of Delaware needed new blood in the Senate. At the time, Cale Boggs was 63 years old, that is, seventeen years younger than Old Joe Biden is now. Yet Biden insists that he is in fine shape to continue to pretend to be president until he is 86. Hypocrisy? From a Leftist? Yeah, I know, it’s a day ending with a “y.”
CNN reported Monday that Biden painted a picture of Boggs as a tired, used-up old pol who had no feel for the spirit of the age. The glib and accomplished serial liar, not at that time in the grip of the “stutter” (which is the Democrats’ word for dementia) that so often plagues him these days, claimed that Boggs had lost a step: “Cale doesn’t want to run, he’s lost that old twinkle in his eye he used to have.” Biden was aided in making his case by the fact that, according to a 1974 Washingtonian article, “Boggs, a two-term Congressman, two-term governor, and two-term Senator, wanted to retire in 1972; President Nixon persuaded him to run for a third term, suggesting that he resign after a year.” Electing a senator who is known not to want the job and might resign after a year is a losing proposition, and Biden took full advantage.
Biden’s ads emphasized how hip and with-it he was, man: “he understands what’s happening today.” One of them said: “Cale Boggs’ generation dreamed of conquering polio, Joe Biden’s generation dreams of conquering heroin. To Cale Boggs, an unfair tax was the 1948 poll tax. To Joe Biden, an unfair tax is the 1972 income tax.” If only Old Joe could travel back in time and tell Young Joe what he and his henchmen are doing with taxes today; young Biden might become a crusader against his older self.
Another 1972 Biden ad declared, “One of the biggest differences between Cale Boggs and Joe Biden is the things they worry about. In Cale Boggs’ day, when Stalin ruled, Americans had visions of the Russian soldiers in our streets. In Joe Biden’s day, Americans have visions of American criminals in our streets. Joe Biden, he understands what’s happening today.”
Yeah, Joe Biden, he knows all about American criminals in our streets. In fact, Biden and his friends and allies, Leftist governors and mayors around the country, are to a great degree responsible for the good times criminals are enjoying these days. In June 2022, the Daily Wire reported that “While the nation has been reeling from rising crime during the Biden administration, ‘defund the police’ advocates have been visiting the White House or meeting with White House aides, White House visitor logs reveal.” “Visions of American criminals in our streets” indeed. If only we had Young Joe around to tell us that Old Joe was as disastrous as he was superannuated, and retire him to his Delaware beach house with its taxpayer-funded wall.
The same strategy that Biden used against Cale Boggs could easily be used against him today. “In Joe Biden’s day when Mao Zedong ruled, Americans were worried about the spread of Communism in China. Now, thanks to Joe, Americans have visions of Chinese soldiers in our streets. In Joe Biden’s day, people shook hands with one another. Now Joe Biden shakes hands with thin air.”
Related: Why Is the Media Questioning Biden’s Cognitive Health Now?
Last September, Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes asked Biden directly about the age issue: “Mr. President, you are the oldest president ever.” Biden responded by saying, “Pretty good shape, huh?” Well, no, Joe, a man who falls up the stairs is not in pretty good shape. Pelley continued, “Which leads to my next question. You are more aware of this than anyone. Some people ask whether you are fit for the job. And when you hear that, I wonder what you think.”
Biden answered with a dare: “Watch me.” Well, yes, Joe, that’s what we’ve been doing, and that’s why we’re so appalled. It’s a shame that no one is going to ask the putative president how he would have responded if Cale Boggs had issued the same dare in 1972, and to explain the difference in Biden’s case now.