Should Joe run?

Biden sure as hell looks like he's running again, even though he just cracked the big eight-oh. I like Joe -- always have -- but I think that a run for a second term would probably be disastrous. He had a penchant for gaffes when he first came to my attention back in the '80s. Now, any mistake, however trivial, will be cited as proof of senility.

Nevertheless, many Democrats are cheering him on. Why? Because his approval ratings have ticked up.

Let's put things in perspective. The Wall Street Journal (see our first link) says that Biden's approval rating stands at 43 percent of registered voters. Another poll (see our second link) gives him a 46 percent approval number. 

By way of comparison: In 2014, Hillary Clinton had an approval rating of 59 percent. Her number slipped throughout the year but did not dip below the 50 percent mark until well into 2015. 

Moral of the story: Things change.

I bring up Hillary's number to drive home another point. Revisionists keep telling us that, in 2016, the party was wrong to nominate someone with Hillary's "baggage." Many who tell the story of that year's election pretend that the majority of Americans have always hated, loathed and abominated Hillary Clinton.

Not true. 

No potential candidate in either party has anything like the popularity that Hillary Clinton had at the start of 2015.

What about Bernie? Sanders has 44 percent approval in this poll and 46 percent approval in this poll. But his negatives are strong. Those who dislike him really, really, really dislike him. Opposition will skyrocket if and when the Republicans haul out the oppo information that they've been sitting on for years.

I have seen the opposition book assembled by Republicans for Sanders, and it was brutal. The Republicans would have torn him apart. And while Sanders supporters might delude themselves into believing that they could have defended him against all of this, there is a name for politicians who play defense all the time: losers.

You should read the rest of that piece, written at the end of 2016. Things will be much worse in 2024, due -- once again -- to the age factor. Bernie Sanders is older than both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. And keep in mind that Sanders has never in his life had to face truly vicious opposition.

We need new blood. Forget Kamala: She had her chance. Most people don't like her. 

May I suggest taking a look at New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham? She's not too far to the left, she's good on the environment, her tough-on-crime stances will forestall a conservative line of attack -- and frankly (though I hate to play the Identity game), a Latina candidate could woo back some of the Hispanic voters who have been leaving the party.