Why a President Joe Biden might end up bolder than his 2 younger Democratic predecessors


The president sworn in next January will be the oldest in U.S. history to take the oath of office, whether it's Joe Biden becoming the 46th president at age 78 or President Trump starting a second term, age 74. When Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972, former President Bill Clinton — born in 1946, the same year as Trump and former President George W. Bush, boomers all — "was a law student running George McGovern's campaign in Texas," David Maraniss notes at The Washington Post. Former President Barack Obama, a de facto Gen Xer born in 1961, was an 11-year-old fifth grader.
Biden, a pre-boomer, "has been around national politics for 48 years, more than either Clinton or Obama had lived when they entered the White House," Maraniss says, but he has "somehow outlasted them into the virtual age," gunning for the top job a generation after Clinton retired. "The situation is striking for more than chronological unlikeliness," he muses:
Timing is everything in politics, and as both the first and last of the three to be in the electoral game, Biden finds himself now perhaps the freest of them all, unloosed by demographics, ideological shifts in both parties, and the spectacle of Donald Trump to make bolder choices than Clinton or Obama. It was in part because of voter exhaustion with the Clintons and a backlash against the Obamas that the metaphorical bridge eventually led to Biden, in many ways a safe and conventional everyman. But although Biden faces skepticism from the Democratic Party's left about whether he will be too accommodating, the conditions for an activist presidency are apparent. This is both despite and because of the dual crises of a pandemic and economic collapse he would face should he become president, and also because he is unlikely to be weighed down by reelection concerns, part of the calculation for Clinton and Obama. [The Washington Post]
Expectations are pretty low for a Biden presidency, according to a recent Pew poll, and most of his voters seem motivated mainly by their dislike of Trump.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The soft burden of low expectations may help Biden as much as it hurts him, but it may also end up being misplaced. Read more at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
El Palace Barcelona: old-world luxury in the heart of the city
The Week Recommends This historic hotel is set within a former Ritz outpost moments from the Passeig de Gràcia
-
The best history books to read in 2025
The Week Recommends These fascinating deep-dives are perfect for history buffs
-
July 4 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Friday’s political cartoons include the danger of talking politics at a family picnic, and disappearing Medicaid entitlements
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami