By Alex Denethorn
That’s a hard one to answer.
First off: I don’t expect Joe Biden to serve for two full terms as President.
My inclination is that he will serve as a transitional President, a moderate, fairly boring, very competent executive, bridging the gap between the extremes of the Trump administration and either a more progressive administration to follow, or at least one returning to the Presidential norms that we were familiar with before Donald Trump dropped by to smash them to pieces.
Joe Biden is currently 78 years of age: that means that, by the time a possible second term rolls around, he’ll be 82. Considering most individuals retire from work in their early- to mid-60s, it’s a hell of a thing to take high political office, and even more so to do so for a full eight years. I think he’ll serve one term and retire.
That said, he’s in pretty damn good shape for someone of his age. Although it’s no doubt starting to catch up with him a little, and goodness knows that four years of the Presidency will push his limits, I’ve no doubt he’ll survive the first term and then choose to back off and let someone else take a swing at the Presidency.
The positive thing to note is that Biden’s already preparing for that: by placing Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg in positions of authority, and doing the same for a number of other young up-and-coming members of the Democratic Party, it’s clear that Biden is going to use his administration to provide younger candidates with broader policy and executive experience, so that there are plenty of people willing and able to step up and replace him in four years time.
Biden himself made it clear: he ran for the Presidency because of Donald Trump. A younger or more progressive candidate may well not have beaten Trump in the elections: Biden knew that he could, and it was more important to displace that narcissistic sociopath, and try and get the US back on track.
Nobody in the Federal Government has the political experience and acumen that Biden possesses: over 50 years in politics, including eight years as Vice President under President Obama. If anyone knows how to get the job done, and to return the United States to stability, it’s Joe Biden.
I very much think it’ll be a case of getting the US onto a stable foundation, preferably having restored the faith of the electorate in their government, and hopefully by buttoning up the Presidency, to ensure that a lot of the things taken “on faith” (and thus exploited by the Trump Administration) aren’t available to be abused in the future.
That done, I fully expect Biden to retire and let someone else take the reins. And the US will owe him a huge debt of gratitude for doing so. -Quora
-Alex Denethorn is a Commentator on US and UK Politics
