2016 U.S. Presidential Elections: The Circus Is In Full Swing
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I've often wondered why the US has a fetish for old men in politics.
I think Obama almost set a record with 47 (48?) years when he took office.
Heads of state/PMs in The Netherlands, France, Spain, Finland, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Slovakia, Ukraine are in their 30-40's. And many others are in their 50's.
I think Obama almost set a record with 47 (48?) years when he took office.
Heads of state/PMs in The Netherlands, France, Spain, Finland, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Slovakia, Ukraine are in their 30-40's. And many others are in their 50's.
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They really want to go for the old-school Roman Republic thing where you had to be a certain age before you could hold an office.
REX Favilla
Recruit
It mostly has to do with the party structure. The older you are the more time you have to build up power within the party, which makes it easier to win the nomination. The only people who really break through this do so by having a disruptive, anti-establishment message, like Obama. JFK is another example of this. Trump's shtick also could have been pulled off by a younger person; he partly leveraged his preexisting brand to outflank establishment Republicans on issues that the base cared about (outsourcing, immigration, China, Middle East wars). Because the Democrats have a younger, more radical element, their primary structure also has built-in mechanisms to suppress candidates who appeal to that element. Republicans were kind of taken by surprise by Trump, the relatively weak measures that they used to marginalize a figure like Ron Paul wouldn't work on Trump because he was already famous, and utilized his rallies and the internet to bypass official channels of communication like debates and talk directly to the base. He also knows how to monopolize media attention.
This is also part of why US national politics are so corrupt. People come to D. C. with big dreams and grand ideas, but by the time it's 'their turn' to take a swing at the plate they've been ground down by years of party politics to be compliant to party demands (which are essentially corporate demands).
Because we are the best generation. Now, piss off. 
The Boomers and their ego-centred ideology were borne of the economic boom, the red scare and the cultural movements of the 50s and 60s, none of which were as intense in Europe. A lot of the people with the boomer mindset in the UK for example were actually born in the late 60s and are now reacting against the failures of the public sector in the 70s. My Grandparents are all in the boomer generation but they and a lot of people their age are basically socially conservative Keynesians.
I have my own pet theory that boomer-types are created when they grow up in socially elevated affluence, but then broad socioeconomic change diverts their life plans and they react against it for the rest of their lives, blaming everyone in sight. Given that much of Europe was still more or less in ruins in the 1950s, this would explain why there isn't anything close to a unified "boomer class" like there is in the USA (or China)
From what I've gathered, Biden really seems to be losing his marbles. Jumbling words and sentences, not making sense during speeches, even messing up what position he's campaigning for. Are there really no health checks, tests, to determine whether the possible leader of the world's leading economies is actually stable? This is genuinely worrying.
And yet he beat Sanders 
I don't know the letter of the law concerning medical checkups to be President, but I know Trump has his own personal doctor come out and say he's "incredibly healthy, astoundingly so for his age, and, in fact, more healthy than most younger people" every time too many people start wondering out loud if he's medically fit physically and/or mentally.
Flin Flon
This is salty Bernie bros developing a taste for hyperboles turned propaganda, and trumplets that go along because Biden's a democrat. Biden's always had a stutter, and he IS getting older, but no evidence exists of any cognitive decline that renders him unable to assume presidency. Bernie, for example, is not doing any better given their age. Best you can do is argue that all of them are too old.
Don't listen to reddit or rose twitter -- they're cringe.
Flin Flon
You're welcome to fact check me? If you don't I'm gonna assume you're full of ****.
EDIT: @Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Little tag so I'm sure you don't miss me.
EDIT: @Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Little tag so I'm sure you don't miss me.
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I'm no Bernie fan by any margin. I don't particularly support any candidates specifically at all, with the exception of wishing to see Trump not win.
I don't blindly follow comments on Reddit, Taleworlds or anywhere else. Questioning both Sanders's and Biden's mental capacity is completely reasonable given their age and the gravity of the position they're going for.
Flin Flon
I'm not accusing you of anything. You said you ''heard'' him losing his marbles, which is mostly a reddit Bernie bros, and trapocels talking point, which is what I tried to address.
I've read the article. It's an opinion piece about speculation -- far removed from him having ''lost his marbles''.
Of course. Physical too.
yes, clearly just stuttering. no way to compare his mode of speaking to how it was before. and if there were there'd clearly be no differences in clarity or comprehensibility. in this house we choose truth over facts, remember.
(and no, idgaf enough to carry on.)
(and no, idgaf enough to carry on.)
