82 is Too Old to be President

I thought Biden’s State of the Union speech last night was OK. Biden looked energetic, he gave the speech well, he even looked relaxed and to be enjoying himself. Vice President Harris did her Mike Pence imitation more convincing than Mike Pence. Kevin McCarthy couldn’t stop smiling; seeing himself as the Speaker of the House and was even cordial and correct not showing any of the Trump shit he talked to get there.

It was the usual Biden speech talking about his accomplishments and then it went on and on and he was still only talking about what he had done. He made the usual bows to bi-partisanship and getting things done, but it was apparent to everyone including Biden that this Republican Congress is not going to do a single thing with Biden. There were some good jabs at the coming Debt Ceiling crisis and some exchange between him and the Republican crazies, now leaders in the McCarthy’s House. This morning in the papers I got it, he challenged the Republicans as the Party that wants to eliminate Social Security and Medicare. “Liar!” the Rudes screamed. He countered, a readied retort, that it was nice to see they’ve converted. Nice move Joe.  Biden 1, Marjorie Taylor Green 0.

There was nothing about future policy, things he can do and will do, for the coming year. He did lay out the intent to continue backing Ukraine against hesitant Republican opposition originating in the Putin admiring Republican right, formerly the extreme right wing.

Biden did a good job of demonstrating that even at 80 years old he can give a good speech and is with a script and some rehearsed retorts and quips still sharp. He is running for President in 2024 and this was as close to a campaign speech as he’s given yet. It’s the same old speech but up until now it sounded like an activist President pushing his agenda.  Last night was a campaign speech.  

Biden is a lifelong stutterer and mangling Schummer’s position, Majority Leader, not Minority Leader, was acceptable stumbling, embarrassing, but not fatal. He looks and moves frailly but heck he’s 80 years old. If he were a friend, he’d be described as 80 but still sharp. It was painful to watch him glad hand his way out of the House. I held my breath hoping he wouldn’t get knocked over in the press of members wanting to shake his hand.

I’m 76 years old and I hope my family describes me “but still sharp.” I tell myself most people are surprised to learn how old I actually am. So far I don’t move frail, particularly if anyone is watching.  

I will not vote for Biden under any circumstances. That is until November and it’s a choice between him and a Republican. Then I have no choice, but I will work hard before that to see the Democrats have a younger, more vigorous and less dated candidate than Uncle Joe. 82 is too old. I think it’s almost inevitable that a President starting his term at 82 is going to end up like Wilson, Reagan or Feinestein, just a shell of themselves before their term ends. I reluctantly admit no one could have been better for Speaker than Nancy Polosi, but she is the exception not the rule and even Nancy is stepping down at 82.

So Trump is almost as old. Trump is a demagogue. Demagogues go until they die. If the Republicans want a demagogue it doesn’t make any difference to me who it is. The Party is suffering from dementia, so why shouldn’t their candidate?

I felt this way three years ago and yes, Uncle Joe has done a good job and may have been the right man at the right time. Thanks.  Now step down. Make room for new leadership. I am not voting for a candidate who will start his term at 82 years old.

Japan 2012

In 2012 I finally accepted the invitation from my boss at Dai-Ichi Kangyo when I was there in the 80s. I had become Hayashi’s right hand man, my desk next to his. I was his American advisor, a gopher sometimes, a trusted lieutenant and a friend.

When he returned to Japan we continued to correspond and he insisted that one day I should come to visit him in Japan. The expense seemed intimidating and I didn’t have the time, but in my first year of retirement I was cash rich and had nothing but time. My excuses were gone and I finally agreed to come.

I arrived in Japan and Hayashi met me at the airport and was my host and tour guide almost every step of the way. Hayashi is a bit of a control freak but in two short weeks I got to see Japan in a way that most America-jin would never see it. I was the VIP guest in a downtown hotel, visited the Hayashi’s at home in central Tokyo, was a guest along with an old co-worker and his wife at Hayashi’s country home where the Hayashi family was from. I got to become friends with Nagasuchi-san. We had worked in the same place but never really known each other. I went by myself on a carefully planned package tour to Kyoto.

Currency, language, geography were never a problem with my guide.

The first event was a reunion of the DKB staff from Los Angeles in the 1980s. The dinner was at Hayashi-san’s very exclusive club in downtown Tokyo. After the 1980s DKB became a Zombie Bank and vanished in a takeover. My colleagues were the survivors and had been scattered to the winds. It was the first meeting of all of us since those days. It was fun to recognize each other after 25 years and the dinner was an incredibly warm and fun event. It seemed our affection for each other had only grown in the interim.

Ono-san, the class clown, was still the class clown. He was assigned to take me back to my hotel. We walked out into the crush of downtown Tokyo, he raised his hand and a large black limosine immediately pulled up at the curb. Ono-san was the president of a Japanese insurance company.

During the course of the trip, various colleagues were assigned to take me out or put me up. Yamada-san met us a few times and we went to restaurants and shrines. Nagasuki-san and his wife, friends of the Hayashis, picked me up and took me to the country home in Nakano. We spent a few days together and went touring in the countryside, seeing temples and shrines and eating at wonderful restaurants, touring the City of Nagano and Matsumoto Castle. I hadn’t really known Nakasugi-san. He was in charge of IT and we didn’t work together. We became friends on this trip. He and his wife were delightful. I asked him if Hayashi-san had changed at all. No, he said, if anything he was more himself, still the boss, but his loyalty and affection for his team was still strong and it seemed we all still did what he told us.

Hasegawa-san hosted me at a National Park near Mount Fuji. Yamaki-san took me to dinner at a famous restaurant in the Ginza. Arahata-san took me to dinner. At the end of the trip Hayashi had assigned Nakasugi-san to take me to some museum and we both discovered we were more interested in the railroad museum and we cheated and went there. On a trip arranged by Hayashi I visited Kyoto. Tsukamoto-san a junior office in Los Angeles was now a senior executive at a major International Bank and we met him for a very special lunch at his bank.

In a short two weeks I had an amazing trip to Japan, hosted and guided by Hayashi-san. I saw Tokyo, Yokahama, Nagano and Kyoto, shrines, temples, parks, restaurants, gardens and public baths and castles. An extended stay with the Hayashis at their country home. I met his auntie, his brother and saw his daughter a Nippon Telephone executive. It was an amazing trip and the warmth and friendship of my former colleagues was incredible. A short trip but a life experience for me.