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This is the time for President Biden to make the ultimate act of statesmanship.  He should continue to run for the 2024 presidential election, but open the Democratic primaries to other

worthy contenders. The President should welcome their vigorous debate over issues ahead, including the folly of electing Donald Trump or other Republican pretenders for the office of

Presidency.  He should encourage both colleagues and competitors to run against him. That would include his Vice President, Kamala Harris, and interested Cabinet members, such as Pete

Buttigieg.  It should be a “no hard feelings” act. We advance this relatively unique proposal, not because of any doubt that Biden — now a vigorous and healthy man of 80 — can fully serve a

second term. We assume he can.  But we believe his party and the country is best served if the clear issue of age is not hidden in the polling but is vetted in open debate in the primaries.

The electorate should not have to wait until November 2024 to assess whether Biden’s age is disqualifying. His Democratic base can and should have its voice heard well before that time. By

welcoming that prospect, Biden can demonstrate his leadership and political savvy, while strengthening his party in the process. Age is surely a fair issue. Biden is already much older than

his fellow heads of government on the world stage. The average age of the leaders of the G7 countries is 52. The oldest of those leaders, Japan’s Fumio Kishida, is a decade and a half

younger than Biden.  So, too, Biden is much older than his aged adversaries. Both Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are a decade younger. They were born in a different era, that of the baby

boomers, while Biden is of the “silent generation”, born during World War II.  Biden is by far the oldest American President in our history and when he finished his second term would be nine

years older than the runner up, Reagan, who finished his second term at the age of 77 — younger than Biden when he _started_ his presidency.  Neither the mean nor the median age of

Americans is even half of Biden’s current age, and the gap will grow. The move is desirable for the nation but imperative for the Democratic Party.  Tactically, in the absence of a

Democratic primary, all the media attention will focus on Republicans and their incessant attacks. Biden will be constantly in the position of reacting to the latest outrageous lie from the

Republican wannabes, especially Trump.  Democratic primaries would not only break the Republican monopoly on news-making, but, still more important, they would also showcase thoughtful

politicians making sober arguments about hard policy issues, and doing so with respect for one another. For the nation, it would be a demonstration of how democracy is supposed to work, not

the shouted lies, no matter what the question, that we have come to expect from Trump. If the President were vigorous on the campaign trail, that would go some way toward dampening the

whispering campaign about his age. If Biden lost, he would have made the ultimate act of statecraft and left the party with a stronger candidate for President.  He could retire on his record

as perhaps the most successful first-term President since Franklin Roosevelt:  witness his legislative achievements in his first two years in a Congress, where Democrats held but a

razor-thin majority. If, as is likely, he won the nomination through the primaries, he would be in an even stronger position to lead the Democratic Party – and the country.  With that

victory notched, he would be able to switch vice-presidential candidates if he chose. Meanwhile, the primaries would have showcased the talents of up-and-coming Democrats like Gretchen

Widmer, Gavin Newsom or Buttigieg on the national stage. Whatever the outcome in 2024, the party would be better positioned for 2028. Biden is understandably proud of his first term

accomplishments and welcoming Democratic primary candidates would be of great benefit in securing further gains by him or any successful challenger.  For Biden, and for the Democratic Party,

there would be little downside to holding a serious set of Democratic primaries. Biden’s career is one of thoughtful statesmanship.  Now is the time for him to prove it, one more time.

_Gregory F. Treverton was Chair of the U.S. National Intelligence Council until January 2017.  He is now Professor of the Practice at Dornsife College, University of Southern California and

Chair, Global TechnoPolitics Forum.  Frederick McKnight, like Treverton, is a graduate of Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and currently is Director of the McKnight

Opportunity Fund, promoting scholarship and diversity among high school students. _ A MESSAGE FROM THEARTICLE _We are the only publication that’s committed to covering every angle. We have

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