In American politics, there is a difference between being old and seeming old — especially when appearing on TV. In her younger political years, Nancy Pelosi was not great in front of the cameras, but she has since morphed into a master of the medium. At 84, she conveys zip, sparkle, flair. She looks as if she’s having fun and, as often as not, as though she is itching to put someone in his place.
Hillary Clinton, 76, increasingly seems like your salty, no-nonsense aunt. Bernie Sanders is old and super cranky but often shows more passion on the Sunday morning news programs than people half his 82 years. Donald Trump is old, but you don’t often notice he’s 78 through all the yelling. On TV, he looks ready to burst through your screen — which I find unsettling, but his fans really seem to enjoy.
Then there’s Joe Biden, whose urgent challenge in the high-stakes presidential debate on Thursday is precisely this: how to be old on TV without seeming old — or worse, elderly.
Mr. Biden is an effective president, but most people don’t watch how someone looks, sounds and moves on TV and think purely about his policy record. And “old” in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. Coming across like an old friend, an old hand or even a grumpy old man can have plenty of upside, conveying warmth, experience, humor or a self-deprecating touch.
But seeming “elderly” can conjure up thoughts of frailty and a fading spirit. Betty White got old, but she never seemed elderly on TV. She never lost that twinkle in her eye or that wicked wit — both of which, honestly, today’s grim politics could use more of. And who among us wouldn’t still love to party with Paul McCartney or Willie Nelson?
Unfortunately for Mr. Biden, a huge chunk of Americans feel that he has tipped over the line from elder statesman to elderly statesman. That shift is hard to come back from. The debate stage will provide perhaps his biggest opportunity to prove himself, but TV appearances — especially extended, unscripted ones — are laden with peril as well.
Americans may be content to be ruled by a gerontocracy, but they prefer if their senior leaders present as though 80 really is the new 60. (Though can someone please tell Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to keep his shirt on and cool it with the push-ups?) And while some openly elderly figures are tolerated in Congress and lower-level posts, the president, as America’s father, is expected to radiate strength and vigor — as much through his public persona as his policies.
Conveying the right aura is partly a matter of physical appearance, but it is even more about attitude and style. This could go a long way toward explaining why Mr. Trump, whose default mode may be best characterized as ragey toddler, doesn’t engender the same anxiety about his advanced age. Mr. Biden’s avuncular manner played well in the 2020 with an exhausted, overstimulated electorate. But these days he needs to kick things up a notch, if only to adjust for time’s relentless march.
Let’s start with the superficial but vital question of looks. Roger Ailes may have been a horrible human being, but he was spot-on about TV being a visual medium. It is also an unforgiving one, especially when it comes to aging. Women have long been painfully aware of this. Years ago, hanging around one of CNN’s studio control rooms, I overheard several men cracking puerile jokes about the neck of an older on-air host. During Mrs. Clinton’s first presidential run, Rush Limbaugh memorably and nastily mused: “Will this country want to actually watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?” Men don’t face the same problem, he continued, contending that “aging makes them look more authoritative, accomplished, distinguished.”
Up to a point. But even male politicians do not want voters to see them as approaching their expiration date, and Washington’s dermatologists and plastic surgeons do a roaring business keeping political V.I.P.s tucked, tweaked and tightened. And perhaps no one better appreciates the challenge of aging skin than the makeup artists for the political talk shows. These pros know how to work magic: For women, less is more. For men, use foundation heavy enough to hide stubble and go a shade darker than their skin tone to prevent them from looking frail and pasty. And for the love of God, moisturize!
These considerations are not new. As president, Ronald Reagan, with his bag of Hollywood tricks, dressed for TV to achieve the strong, broad-shouldered look — oversized shirt collars helped make his head look bigger — and kept his hair swept high in a pompadour. “It takes all the lines right out of my face,” he once told his deputy chief of staff. The House speaker John Boehner was famous for his year-round savage tan, which gave him that relaxed, hale and hearty look of having just strolled in off the golf course. And in the 1980s, there was chatter about what Senator Biden had done to combat encroaching baldness.
Mr. Biden appears to take such matters seriously: He is keeping things firm, staying fit, dressing well. He is exceedingly fair, although, hey, at least his face is a color found in nature. But looks are less worrisome than seeming slow or confused on camera. Mr. Trump has the edge in this department. The guy is a raver, but people don’t automatically associate that with age or cognitive decline.
Mr. Biden’s lower-key manner often works against him. His political brand is too mild-mannered to inspire confidence for many voters, who see him less as thoughtful and steady than as weak and befuddled. Some Democratic officials admit this privately, even if many Biden supporters hate talk of his age. The reality is, a lot of Americans aren’t sure if he has the “strength or stamina” to be president for four more years, to borrow a phrase Mr. Trump used against Mrs. Clinton in 2016. From Thursday to Election Day, Mr. Biden should be looking for any opening to display that strength and stamina.
History shows he knows how. In 2020, the first debate between him and Mr. Trump was epically bad, thanks mostly to Mr. Trump’s constant interruptions. One of Mr. Biden’s most memorable and winning moments was when he got fed up enough to say, “Will you shut up, man?”
Similarly, his State of the Union address this year was spicy and well received. The president got visibly fired up. He threw hard jabs at Mr. Trump. And he took obvious delight in poking congressional Republicans for politically motivated moves like tanking the bipartisan border-security proposal. “Oh, you don’t like that bill, huh, that conservatives got together and said was a good bill? I’ll be darned,” he taunted them.
Striking the proper tone is tricky. Mr. Biden needs to convey energy and passion yet avoid looking like an over-caffeinated crank yelling about everything. When in doubt, humor is a good bet, telegraphing that he is comfortable in his own skin and still quick on his feet.
Reagan, another president who faced doubts about his age, was known for his wit. And, appropriately, one of his most famous quips was in response to a debate question about the issue during his 1984 re-election race. Asked whether he was up for another term, he smoothly vowed: “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
Even his opponent, Walter Mondale, cracked up. And just like that, the age thing was off the table.
That kind of game-changer seems too much of ask of Mr. Biden. But you can’t blame a gal for hoping.
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