OLD WHITE MEN
Everybody Loves
Old Joe
By Jack Random
Despite my approximate seven percent Native American
bloodline by way of the Great Oklahoma Land Rush and the Dust Bowl migration to
Central California, I am what I appear to be: an old white man.
I am neither proud nor ashamed of that identification. It is what it is.
I am not proud to be old though it beats the
alternative. I am not proud to be
white though I am grateful I did not have to endure the pains of discrimination
that so many of my darker complexioned peers did. I am not proud to be a man though I am fortunate I did not
have to suffer the indignity of sexual bias and intimidation that women have
experienced.
All of this brings me to the latest entry in the Democratic
presidential sweepstakes: Old Joe
Biden. Everybody loves Joe. Just listen to all the old white men on
television giving testament to Old Joe’s character. Listen to them proclaim the same old ode to moderation that
they deliver every four years:
Only Joe can win the White House.
Only Joe knows how to talk to the working stiffs in Middle America. Only Joe can avoid the stinging charge
of socialism.
Everybody loves Joe until he actually runs for the
presidency. Now we begin to see
the dark side of Old Joe, the borderline racist-sexist shadow of his past
policies: His failure to stand up
for Anita Hill as he chaired the committee that systematically assassinated her
character, his advocacy of the infamous Clinton Crime Bill that resulted in the
mass incarceration of minorities and his hand in creating the Free Trade
mandate.
Old Joe aint quite what he appears to be when you look a
little closer.
Don’t get me wrong.
I like Old Joe. No. I really do. He reminds me of my father who was one of the most
progressive men of his generation.
He meant no harm when he used phrases like: a credit to his race. He regarded women much as men of his
age did.
Old Joe is like my father. He didn’t mean any harm. He really didn’t. And maybe his vulnerability in these
areas would make him a great president for women and minorities by way of
compensation. Nevertheless,
Democrats must ask themselves if they really want a candidate with some of the
same character flaws as the sitting president.
When it all comes down, like all
the other old white men, I don’t believe that age, race or gender should
disqualify anyone from the presidency.
Being an old white man, however, I do believe that age becomes a factor
in the way we think, the way we act and the way we respond to criticism. As much as we want him to do well, Joe
aint gonna make it down this road unscathed and neither is Bernie. It’s a long hard road and one that both
Joe and Bernie have traveled before.
Take it from one who has traveled this nation by air, rail, highway and
thumb, the road gets rougher and winds in ways we don’t even remember.
I recall Ronald Reagan musing on
the long and winding road to nowhere in his presidential debate with Walter
Mondale. In an actor’s vernacular,
he “went up.” His mind abandoned
him mid-thought. Yet we the people
re-elected him. Later, he would
feign hard-of-hearing while wife Nancy whispered what to say in his ear. Later still, he would admit guilt in
the Iran-Contra affair with one of the strangest statements ever enunciated in
the Oval Office before Trump: “A
few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for
hostages. My heart and my best
intentions tell me that’s true but the facts and evidence tell me it’s not.” Translation: I lost control of my presidency. We would learn that Reagan suffered from Alzheimer’s
disease.
Ronald Reagan was 73 years old
when elected to a second term. Joe
Biden will be 77 in November.
Bernie Sanders will be 78 in September. Elizabeth Warren is a relatively youthful 69 and will turn
seventy in June.
Chris Matthews, the elder
statesman of MSNBC, is 73 years of age.
Pundit and former Governor of Pennsylvania Ed Rendell is 75. Respectfully, it is time for the old white
guys to step down and make way for the young, the vibrant and the
innovative.
Matthews believes that the
charge of socialism will skewer any Democrat who advocates universal
Medicare. He speaks for a
generation past – a generation that depends on Medicare. Rendell is sure that only Old Joe can
take back the Rust Belt from Donald Trump but Biden has no more or better
answers to the loss of industrial jobs than Hillary did.
Old white guys like Old
Joe. I’m with the young
people. I still like Bernie. But if I’m being honest, having watched
the CNN town hall forums, age marked Bernie in a way that it did not four years
ago. By comparison, Elizabeth
Warren appeared youthful and vibrant.
It’s not that he lacked energy and passion but his answers seemed a little
pat and he was not as quick to respond to criticisms as he once was.
Age like death comes for us all
and it leaves an indelible mark.
I believe in my soul it is time
for the old white guys to step aside.
It is time for someone younger and more in touch with technology to
carry the torch. It is time for a
candidate who is not afraid of words like “socialism” and has the courage to
stand up for policies that align with principle.
I will not be supporting Bernie
Sanders this time around – not because he is a socialist but because he is too
old. Frankly, Bernie is not a
socialist. He does not advocate
abolishing free enterprise or private property. He only wants to moderate capitalism a with healthy dose of
social medicine, including universal healthcare, a decent safety net, a higher
minimum wage and progressive taxation.
If only Bernie were younger I would not hesitate to support him as the
mainstream progressive candidate.
It goes without saying that I
will not support Joe Biden. He’s
had his day. Let others speak of
his shortcomings. He is too old to
be president.
I have not eliminated Elizabeth
Warren though her age is certainly a concern. Her policies are breaking new ground. Her two percent tax on the super rich
makes a lot of sense. She is the
enemy of the elite and is well positioned to expose Donald Trump as the spoiled
elitist he really is. Her proposal
for rolling back student debt is bold.
Her stands on impeachment, breaking up the Tech giants and Medicare for
All are direct and uncompromised.
She strongly supports the Green New Deal – the minimum we should expect
from any candidate for president.
She also has the ghost of Pocahontas but nobody really cares.
Of the younger women, Senator
Amy Klobuchar stood out at the town hall meetings for her knowledge of the
issues and her specific policy proposals.
I don’t buy her dodge on impeachment: she believes that senators must be
neutral because they would serve as the jury. I believe that presidential candidates must have the courage
to say where they stand. She
advocates a public option on healthcare insurance, mental health parity,
targeted loan forgiveness for student debt and supports the Green New Deal. She wants Big Pharma to pay for the
drug treatment needed to counter the epidemic of addiction they created. There is a lot to like here but she
needs the passion of Bernie.
Senator Kamala Harris seems to
have a pattern of coming on strong and then backing away from issues she
perceives as controversial. Too
often she fell back on the phrase:
“Let’s have that conversation.”
Translation: She’s not
ready to commit.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand lost
me when she was so quick to throw her colleague Senator Al Franken under the
bus. He was guilty of very bad taste
– even for a comedian – but he did not deserve summary execution of his
political career.
Senator Cory Booker was somehow
omitted from the town halls – perhaps replaced by Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Booker has a problem in his ties to the
pharmaceutical industry. Mayor
Pete is a brilliant man – too brilliant to believe he is actually running for
president.
There are of course a lot of
other candidates and we’ve got a long way to go. At this juncture, like most Americans, I am nowhere near
committing. The only decision I’ve
made is: It aint Old Joe and it
aint Old Bernie. Not this time.
Jazz.
JACK
RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES AND NUMEROUS NOVELS, INCLUDING PAWNS
TO PLAYERS: THE CHESS TRILOGY. HIS COMMENTARIES HAVE APPEARED AT
DISSIDENT VOICE AND COUNTERPUNCH.
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