Probably not.

Plenty of pundits — especially on the right — are noting the US president's physical and mental decline. And it's true that there has been a decline: Biden talks, walks, and carries himself like an old man. He looks frail, he slurs his speech, and he's got those age spots old people have.

But does that mean his days on Earth are counted?

Not necessarily. To wit, President Reagan started showing decline in his mental faculties in his second term (mid to late '80s), yet went on to live till 2004, and was still making public speeches in the 1990s. Old-age mental decline can accelerate, but can also stay stagnant and slow-moving for several years. Same for overall physical decline.

Aging is an interesting phenomenon, especially when you make person-to-person comparisons. If someone told me Donald Trump was 59 years old, I'd believe him (he's 75); Joe Biden, on the other hand, looks, talks, and carries himself more-or-less like a 79-year-old, which is his age. What makes some people age faster than others? Genetics? Lifestyle? Beats me. Remaining active and cheerful seems to help, pumping iron, and sunscreen for skin aging. Other than that, we're pretty much all at the mercy of Father Time, until they find a cure for it, if they ever do.

So, yeah, Uncle Joe will most likely live to run for a second time, as much as I disagree with most of his policies. Beyond that time, the naysayers will probably be right.

One thing is for certain, it's that we don't have much of this problem in Canada. For whatever reason, Canadians like their prime ministers (and politicians in general) squarely in the middle-aged bracket. Though some of that may have to do with how often party leaders get toppled and replaced.

To vitality!