An op-ed in the Wall Street Journal tells the tale of the 2024 presidential election. Joe Biden is too old and feeble to be re-elected, so why is he running? By running for re-election, he is showing himself to be “profoundly selfish.”

It’s something many of us have written about as the presidential primary cycle continues. Joe Biden is a compromised candidate in many ways. He is old, physically and mentally feeble, and he is corrupt. The Biden crime family investigations are producing subpoenas of family members who have allegedly been cashing in on their access to Joe Biden. It’s hard for Joe Biden to present himself as morally superior to Donald Trump if Trump is the Republican candidate, as House Republicans move forward with hearings and impeachment.

Joe Biden turns 81 on Monday. There is absolutely nothing that he or his campaign can do to change that. Last year his family and staff were able to distract from this milestone birthday because his granddaughter Naomi’s wedding was held on the South Lawn. She allowed her White House wedding to be planned to take some of the spotlight off of her grandfather’s 80th birthday. The timing “was not a coincidence,” as two sources told CNN.

This year look for the same type of tamping down of attention placed on The Big Guy’s birthday. He’ll probably have a family celebration with cake and the usual narrative of what a great family man Biden is at the White House. It doesn’t look like Jill will be holding a celeb-heavy shindig to show how cool she is.

Regardless, voters have managed to notice that Mr. Biden is showing his years. Seventy-seven percent of Americans say he’s too old for another term, according to an August AP poll, including 69% of Democrats, 74% of independents, and 89% of Republicans. And who says Mr. Biden hasn’t united the country? During the 2020 election, concerns about his age were muttered sotto voce, but now they’re front and center in his re-election bid.

Everyone thinks he is too old. His staff admits that Joe Biden is not up to the job of campaigning for re-election. Biden wants to do a rerun of the 2020 campaign and campaign from the White House instead of his basement in Delaware. He isn’t able to do the hard work of a presidential campaign – it is too much for him. His staff is terrified that he will fall again and of the possibility he will injure himself if he does. His noticeable weakness is causing his potential opponent, Trump, to gain support. Trump is 77-years-old. You may have noticed that he, too, is staying close to home instead of hitting the campaign trail as he did in previous campaigns. Trump has obligations due to legal challenges and he is very far out in front in Republican primary polls, that is true. However, if you watch his recent rallies, you see a man still focused on 2020 and repeating promises to do things he promised to do in 2016. He doesn’t seem to have the zip he had in the past. It’s perfectly normal but it shows that the two front-runners are showing their age.

How can Joe Biden ask to keep his job for four more years when he can’t do it right now?

Then why is he asking the public to keep him in the Oval Office until 2029, when he will be 86 years old? If he can’t take the rigors of a presidential campaign, why would voters think he can handle four more years of a grueling job, which might include being shaken awake in the wee hours to respond to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan?

Given Mr. Biden’s age and obvious decline, running for re-election is an act of profound selfishness. He has wanted the big desk since at least 1987 when he first ran. Aging people, even if they’re not surrounded by yes men, can be the last to notice time’s toll, as many can attest after trying to take away dad’s car keys.

The White House is trying to make jokes to take away from the seriousness of the leader of the free world being in the throes of dementia and unable to do his job. It’s no joke. The world watches as he mumbles through speeches and is unable to keep up with the teleprompter or read his notecards. The world sees him dazed and confused on stage, needing to be guided off the stage. All of this is not just embarrassing but is very dangerous. The United States is seen as weakened and that is never good. It isn’t just our friends and allies who see it, our enemies do, too.

Biden has leaks in his White House. They are telling reporters that the president isn’t up to the job. The honorable thing to do is for Joe Biden to be given the straight truth – all of the polling shows he is underwater in all the areas that voters most care about. The latest polls show him losing to Donald Trump. Biden’s whole reason for running in 2020, allegedly, was to stop Trump’s re-election. He again is using the excuse that he is the only Democrat that can beat Trump. The reality is that Biden has wanted to be president since the late 80s when he first ran. He never intended to keep his initial promise of serving as a placeholder for Democrats and only serve one term. He and Jill aren’t ready to give up the power and the perks.

His staff isn’t nearly as concerned for the country as they are for their jobs. Otherwise, they would be resigning en masse to send a message to their boss.

His staff and family should put the country before the perks of office. If the reality is that the boss is too old for another term, and if he refuses to hear it, the honorable move is to resign and quit covering for him.

Biden’s refusal to accept reality is good for the Republican candidate. In the meantime, it’s bad for the country. Joe Biden has 50 years in elected office. He has very little to show for it, other than expensive homes and a fat bank account. His legacy will be that he has been a worse president than Jimmy Carter. His term has been Barack Obama’s third term and it has failed miserably. It’s time for Joe to retire to his house at the beach and let Gavin Newsom run to replace him.