I saw where Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are the Democrat top runners for president in 2020. Do you think we need younger blood running?

The Chief Executive only has to make decisions. Everything else is just show business, including the notion that the president “runs the country”. The President gets in line behind an entrenched bureaucracy, and then the elected Congress.

If either of those guys can still think and use their wisdom of age properly they qualify. I realize that people think they are electing the King, so they want to inspect the candidate much in the same way that people inspect animals for breeding. But that is nonsense.

Anyway, I have seen a list of likely Dem candidates for 2020 and there are plenty of young candidates on it. No guarantee that either Biden or Sanders (or Hillary Clinton for that matter) would make it through the selection process. Then, they would have to beat Donald Trump.

First, it is way too early to be worrying.

Second, none of the younger folk have any gravitas or name recognition or accomplishments to their name. The dems need someone who is a leader, and the young folk haven’t those attributes.

I would add Mike Bloomberg to the list of potential good candidates.

I think the vitality of their brain is more important than their physical age and I hate to discriminate over something like age if they are capable people.

But I do feel like it is time for a general overall realignment within government that would include bringing in a younger, more diverse group of people would be beneficial. But, I think that having term limits would accomplish much of the same thing.

I think that just choosing more youthful candidate is not going to accomplish what the Democratic party hopes it will. I think they need to get back to their more working class roots and not just be Republican Lite if they want to do that.

It’s tired old farts like those two dinosaurs that saw voters turn away from career politicians & their bullshit, choosing instead to elect a reality star & his bullshit.
True across the world, young & vibrant leaders are what’s needed, if there even are any.

Possibly. Can you think of anyone who will be at least 35 and willing to run? Most youngsters are too busy building their political careers to go whole hog into a possible White House run. Everyone would be asking, “He’s who? Never heard of him!”

Younger doesn’t necessarily mean under 35 @kritiper. There is a 40 year span between that age and the age that most of those in office are presently that are technically “younger”.

Plus, younger candidates who are successful could end up like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who, even though she won, can’t move to DC until she is installed in office because she can’t afford housing there.

Younger blood? Not necessarily. Likeability is the stronger factor imo. Coupled with the right campaign strategy.

Yes, I would prefer to see candidates like Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, or Cory Booker. Opponents will use Bernie’s or Biden’s age against them.

I think it is too soon to know who will emerge as candidates. I think there is a pool of people positioning themselves to run, including Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker. Beto O’Rourke is being spoken of now as well.

I think @ucme has it right to some degree. Not saying that an older person can’t be a good leader, but sometimes I think they do fail to appeal. At the same time, Trump was just as old as Hillary (the two oldest candidates ever) and he won. Sometimes I think “no more geezers”, but I don’t know if that would actually improve the quality of the candidates. I think maybe I just want something different.

@rojo You have to be 35 to be president.

@janbb Add to your list an angry man from WV who declared his candidacy yesterday. Richard Ojeda. He yells a lot.

@chyna Yeah, saw him in the Michael Moore film. We don’t need a yeller.

I actually like Joe Biden a lot and think he has folk appeal but I understand the concerns about his age.

I find Biden to be a good person in general; however, I do NOT see him as presidential material!!! Sanders didn’t excite me last time; but, he would be MUCH better than what we have now!!! I would think their appeal would hinge on WHO they choose as the VP running mate just in case they don’t make it!!! I’ve always looked MORE into the VP candidate over the actual person running for the highest office in the land!!! Yes, youth has some advantages; but, they do NOT have experience which I find to be much needed!!! Many people are living well into their 90’s & some even past 100…BTW, age discrimination is illegal!!!

Personally, I think that you MUST be crazy to have the desire to run for president & should therefore be disqualified from running due to mental illness!!!

Yes I think the Dems would have better results with younger candidates.

I only mind that it will be a political issue that will tend to make it harder (and more annoying) to elect them. I also think Biden is too much a party (i.e. corporate) owned figure.

“At this point everyone is qualified and everyone should run.” Michele Obama

Michelle says she HATES politics too much to run!!! I guess we’ll see in 2020!!!

I voted for Bernie in the 2016 primary. I would vote for Joe with no hesitation. But I would like to see a younger candidate for 2020.

I don’t have a favorite.

Biden is too mainstream. He is also prone to gaffes. I like Sanders, but I can’t picture him as being president. I am intrigued with the possibility of O’Rourke running. He came within a hair of winning against Cruz in the red state of Texas.

@LostInParadise Don’t you think we need a mainstream candidate who can appeal to workers? I truly don’t know at this point.

@janbb I do. But this time not a fauxmillionaire. I think there are only two ways the dems can move forward. By appealing to the working class and middle managers who were their bread and butter a half century ago with a real candidate of the people who can appeal to their concerns (health, job stimulus, economic revival) and draw the disenchanted voters who have left the party since, in deeds anyway, there is little difference between their moneyed elite and those of the reps. and people see this. The other way is for the reps to get even more morally repugnant than they have but even this scenario might just drive voters away, not to the other party.

@janbb , There is a lot of dissatisfaction with the mainstream. That is how Trump got elected. Once workers realize that Trump is not going to deliver on his promises, they should be open to electing a more progressive candidate.

@LostInParadise I hear you. It all seems a crap shoot to me at this point but we’ll see what happens in the next two years.