Americans deserve younger candidates, better ideas

Jul 05, 2024

Dr. Rashad Richey National TV Political Analyst, Talk Radio Host, Univ. Prof.

By Straight Arrow News

On March 7, President Joe Biden delivered a well-received State of the Union address, speaking clearly and in detail about the challenges that the nation must confront. Less than four months later, on June 28, a very different-looking president took the stage to debate Donald Trump. In both speech and physical appearance, this Biden suddenly looked much older than he had looked barely 100 days before.

Trump, for his part, consistently lied and dodged questions throughout that debate, at times setting Biden up for some clear, wide-open shots. But the reigning president never took those free shots, leaving Democrats concerned about his physical and cognitive health.

Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Dr. Rashad Richey argues that Americans across the spectrum deserve younger, healthier political leaders with bigger, bolder and better ideas than what was seen from either candidate.

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The following is an excerpt of the above video:

It is quite fascinating to me that we see this pendulum going back and forth in the United States of America. And some would argue that it started with former President Barack Obama. You have a young, charismatic Black male, he took the place of a regime of not-so-young, moderately charismatic white males. George W. Bush was an embarrassment according to many. He’s a breath of fresh air today in the Republican Party, given the MAGA takeover. But back then, they said something opposite needed to happen from the leadership style and policies, failed policies of George W. Bush. So President Barack Obama gets elected on a message of hope. He serves two years, excuse me two terms, eight years.

And Hillary Clinton runs, Donald Trump runs, what does the country do? They pick the most opposite human being they could find to former President Barack Obama, Donald Trump. I don’t know exactly where this is going to go. But I do know this. We need younger leaders in the United States of America, regardless of political background, party affiliation, you got to have better ideas, not just more ideas, better ideas. That’s not what’s happening.

Okay, listen, I’m not going to wax poetic about the disaster of a debate between President Biden and former President Trump. Biden stumbled, slow start. He’s an older gentleman. Donald Trump, older gentleman himself, fast, quick-witted, lied the whole damn time. That’s my summary of the debate. Let’s move on.

We have figured out a way in America to contextualize the most important job into a singular moment. You can call it a debate, maybe a speech, possibly even one policy. The reality is, when we actually engage in everyday life, we judge events, people, co-workers, those who work for us if we are in a management position, based on overall performance, based on a true analytical, objective review of the facts, productivity. A key part of being a leader is having a heart, not saying everything right, every time there’s a moment to talk, but having a heart.

It is quite fascinating to me that we see this pendulum going back and forth in the United States of America. And some would argue that it started with former President Barack Obama. You have a young, charismatic black male, he took the place of a regime of not-so-young, moderately charismatic white males. George W. Bush was an embarrassment according to many. He’s a breath of fresh air today in the Republican Party, given the MAGA takeover. But back then, they said something opposite needed to happen from the leadership style and policies, failed policies of George W. Bush. So President Barack Obama gets elected on a message of hope. He serves two years, excuse me two terms, eight years.

You see, the reason why Biden is slowly failing in the polls is because there’s no difference between him and Trump on some of the international policies that make you and I upset. These are real dynamics that impact us here locally. So next time you vote, please keep in mind and vote for everybody on the ticket on the ballot, because the way this is going, no telling what our presidential politics will look like beyond.