My excitement about President Joe Biden running for re-election is no more than level 3 or 4. If I have no choice I will vote for him, of course, especially if Donald Trump snags the Republican nomination. I can’t accept that moderate independents would be so stupid or self-destructive as to vote for Trump again. The man is a criminal, a sociopath, an enemy of decency, a beast.

That said voters will be very dispirited at the prospect of another Biden-Trump race. Deep down people don’t care for Biden’s old-guy vibes. People naturally like their leaders to project strength and vigor. Bernie Sanders is a year older than Biden but he projects more of a sharp and commanding quality.

I would feel better if a sensible Biden-esque figure in their 50s or early 60s was running instead of Biden — Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.