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Michael J Ryan, Paula Jones, Jeffrey Frankel and Andrew Lugton on the ageing US president Re Joe Biden’s response to questions about his memory and mental capacity (Biden was in a fighting mood for surprise speech – but he didn’t win, 9 February), on 31 March 1968, Lyndon Johnson made a speech supporting his decision not to run for a second term in the White House, on the grounds that he wanted to devote his remaining months in office to finding a way of bringing the Vietnam war to a peaceful conclusion. The subtext of course was that, if he ran, he would almost certainly lose on the grounds of his association with events in Vietnam.Surely here is a precedent that Biden and his advisers might consider seriously? He might announce his withdrawal from the presidential race on the grounds of his determination to use his considerable powers, contacts and experience to resolve issues in Gaza as well as in Ukraine. By doing so, he would turn the focus of the age-related issues sharply towards Donald Trump while giving his party the time and opportunity to create a campaign that would command greater support from members of his party and electors more generally.Michael J RyanHull Continue reading...