Something I just realized about Biden

[Del Tachi]

He certainly holds the record for amount of time in politics before being President (having joined the New Castle County Council 50 years before he became President), but even among Presidents, some were already not far behind: James Buchanan was in the PA state house 43 years before he became President, & William Henry Harrison was in the House 42 years before he became President in addition to having served as Secretary of the Northwest Territory for a year before.

Both of these are inaccurate.

What exactly was inaccurate there? James Buchanan entered the PA House of Representatives in 1814, which was 43 years before he became President in 1857, & William Henry Harrison entered the federal House in 1799, which was 42 years before he became President in 1841.

My bad, misread it.  I thought you were saying Buchanan was in the PA House for 43 years, andn that Harrison was in the U.S. House for 42 years.

Lifespans were shorter back then. I'd be pretty shocked if I found out someone served in the House for upwards of 40 years in that time period.

Somewhat a myth.  Global life expectancy surged during the 20th century, but is almost entirely because of reductions in infant mortality.  There were still plenty of 70 and 80 years olds walking around during Antiquity (much less 19th century America)

We've gotten better at keeping people alive past age 70-75, haven't we?

We most certainly have, but prolonging someone’s life from 73 years to 85 years has a way less dramatic impact on overall life expectancy than almost entirely eliminating deaths before age 1. 

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

He certainly holds the record for amount of time in politics before being President (having joined the New Castle County Council 50 years before he became President), but even among Presidents, some were already not far behind: James Buchanan was in the PA state house 43 years before he became President, & William Henry Harrison was in the House 42 years before he became President in addition to having served as Secretary of the Northwest Territory for a year before.

Both of these are inaccurate.

What exactly was inaccurate there? James Buchanan entered the PA House of Representatives in 1814, which was 43 years before he became President in 1857, & William Henry Harrison entered the federal House in 1799, which was 42 years before he became President in 1841.

My bad, misread it.  I thought you were saying Buchanan was in the PA House for 43 years, andn that Harrison was in the U.S. House for 42 years.

Lifespans were shorter back then. I'd be pretty shocked if I found out someone served in the House for upwards of 40 years in that time period.

Somewhat a myth.  Global life expectancy surged during the 20th century, but is almost entirely because of reductions in infant mortality.  There were still plenty of 70 and 80 years olds walking around during Antiquity (much less 19th century America)

We've gotten better at keeping people alive past age 70-75, haven't we?

When most certainly have, but prolonging someone’s life from 73 years to 85 years has a way less dramatic impact on overall life expectancy than almost entirely eliminating deaths before age 1. 

That's fair, and thanks for helping illuminate the full picture. Of course, extending someone's lifespan from 73 to 85 makes it dramatically likelier to have people in Congress for 40 years or more, which is what I was getting at.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

And yet humans haven't left low Earth orbit since a couple of weeks before he became Senator.

[7,052,770]

And yet humans haven't left low Earth orbit since a couple of weeks before he became Senator.

🤔🤔🤔

[Shaula🏳️‍⚧️]

Biden entered the Senate in 1971, a full 50 years before being inaugurated as the 46th president.  We can all acknowledge that was a long time ago, but it still feels somewhat “fresh/current” because they’re still plenty of folks among us who were alive/remember the 1970s, I suspect.   

That will became less and less the case as we get more removed from the current era.  People without any personal/family connection to the 1970s will have a hard time casting Biden as a character both then and now.  To future audiences, the 1970s and 2020s will be too asynchronous to even imagine that the public career of an American president could overlap the two eras. 

To give you a feel for what I mean, consider that someone with Biden’s political experience elected president in 1968 would have entered Congress on the heels of World War One.  That’s how unbelievable Biden’s career will sound to future generations of Americans

Interesting.

But do you believe he won the 2020 election fairly?

Yes, now get off. 

Just making sure.  No productive conversation can be had with any of you people until that very basic and obvious question is answered.

This is idiotic. That has nothing to do with the conversation at all.