It’s been too obvious to ignore for some time now and the most recent polling from AP/NORC confirms that people are noticing and the media is being forced to address it. Joe Biden is simply too old to be president and he can not be effective for a second term. (We can save the debate over how “effective” he’s been in his first term for another day.) Most of the legacy media has tried to ignore this fact for as long as possible, and some people like Joe Scarborough at MSNBC continue to insist that Biden is full of vim and vigor and there’s no way he could have fallen asleep while listening to speakers during his recent trip to Hawaii. But the public isn’t buying it. And it’s not just Republicans and independents saying this. A significant majority of Democrats agree.

Americans actually agree on something in this time of raw discord: Joe Biden is too old to be an effective president in a second term. Only a few years his junior, Donald Trump raises strikingly less concern about his age.

But they have plenty of other problems with Trump, who at least for now far outdistances his rivals for the Republican nomination despite his multiple criminal indictments. Never mind his advanced years — if anything, some say, the 77-year-old ought to grow up.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds much of the public oddly united in sizing up the one trait Biden cannot change.

When asked whether they agree or disagree that Joe Biden is “too old to be effective for four more years,” 79% agreed. That includes 69% of Democrats siding with 89% of Republicans. (Perhaps the other 11 percent of Republicans are all octogenarians themselves?) People’s impression of Biden seems to be washing over into a general intolerance of the elderly in positions of power. The same poll found that between 66 and 68 percent of respondents support age limits and mandatory retirement ages for presidents, members of Congress, and even Supreme Court justices. Of course, at least some of those ideas would require improbable amendments to the Constitution.

Conversely, only half of respondents feel that Donald Trump is too old for another term as president and they are almost entirely Democrats. Keep in mind that Trump is only three years younger than Biden, but confidence among his supporters remains strong. This should serve as yet another reminder that we shouldn’t be talking about maximum age limits when what we’re really concerned with is cognitive ability. Some people age like fine wine and remain sharp far into their senior years. Unfortunately, Joe Biden is aging more like a carton of milk that has passed its expiration date.

Meanwhile, Gallup finds that Biden’s approval remains in the toilet on pretty much everything. He’s stuck at 42% for overall approval and below 40 in four of the top categories, including his handling of the economy and immigration. This has already turned into another one of those problems that may simply be too big for people to wrap their heads around or propose any sort of feasible plan.

What is the country supposed to do? More specifically, what are the Democrats going to do? Nobody is really satisfied with the job Joe Biden is doing (except possibly Joe Scarborough), and almost no one thinks he is capable of handling a second term in office, assuming he can remain alert enough to finish his current term. The solution for Republicans and conservatives is obvious though by no means easy. Replace him next November. Unfortunately, the electorate is so divided, particularly when it comes to the Bad Orange Man, that they might just elect Biden again.

For the Democrats, it’s far more complicated. If Joe won’t step down on his own and do so quickly, their options are very limited and the political optics are simply poisonous. Biden (and his wife) could be pressured by his own staff to the point where he might announce that he’s “one and done.” But I doubt they will do it because I honestly believe they enjoy having what is essentially a puppet that they can control and they don’t want to relinquish their own power. Unfortunately, if they pull this off and Joe simply collapses in one fashion or another, they and the rest of the country will be stuck with Kamala Harris. And that could arguably be worse for all concerned. We are in a serious pickle here, and aside from defeating Biden at the ballot box next November, we don’t really have any other options or hopeful scenarios.