President Joe Biden as “Dark Brandon” at White House Correspondents Dinner. YOUTUBE
Would Bong Bong Marcos do karaoke at a White House State Dinner? Last week it was South Korea’s honor and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made it memorable when he broke into a version of “American Pie.”
Yes, “Bye bye, Miss American Pie.”
Yoon didn’t drive the Hyundai to the levee but the levee was dry. But it got me thinking. What exactly would Pres Bong-Bong do that would be equally endearing and hook worthy?
A Sinatra “Strangers in the Night” with a Filipino twist a la “Ube-dooby, doo…”Don’t.
Or maybe just go America all the way with a Jay-Z inspired “I’ve got 99 problems and age ain’t one.”
And that is the political question at hand today: How do older politicians like Biden fight the ageist factor in American society?
Doing karaoke is a cool trick to come across and hipper and younger than you might be.
But by the weekend, Biden came up with maybe something better. At the White House Correspondents Dinner, he broke out the live action version of “Dark Brandon,” speaking cool political smack before putting on the aviator glasses.
It’s a total usurping of a political meme that developed in 2021, when Biden appeared at a NASCAR race and a crowd taunted him by name.
But the broadcaster interviewing Biden at the time said the crowd wasn’t using an epithet to curse Biden. No, the crowd was blurting, “Let’s go Brandon.”
He censored the “f” word for “go” and inserted Brandon for Biden, and that’s how the code for a MAGA meme developed.
And then last weekend, the Biden folks hijacked it with live action “Dark Brandon.”
If Biden can say the truth through a jokey character to deflect any criticism, it could work.
It would enable him to be really honest and candid and say what he means as “Dark Brandon,” the anti-MAGA guy, who knows exactly what drives MAGA types crazy. In doing so he inspires all those who see Biden as old, but “Dark Brandon” in the aviators? He’s singing their tune.
And that’s how it could work in 2024. Cool Joe as “Dark Brandon” emerges.
AANHPIH Month, anybody?
I confess as we come onto the month of May, I too am feeling chronologically “evolved.”
Just like our special month.
When I first heard about May being just for us, it was Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and that’s after it was elongated from an Asian American week. (Too much diversity for seven days.) And that all started 46 years ago.
Of course, I remember that. We’ve evolved just like the name of the month. We’ve gone from AA to APA to AAPI and now for maximum inclusion, let’s not forget the Native Hawaiians, which is why the Biden administration insists it’s “Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.”
That’s Joe Biden for you.
His is the first administration to be that inclusive. It’s also the first administration with the highest ranking AANHPI woman ever, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The first Asian American, African American woman to be elected to the second highest post in the land, Harris is all about the diversity of the New America. That still has solid electoral appeal, no matter what mainstream pundits say. You’re not getting that from Republicans. But maybe we are seeing a new political stereotype emerge: the Indian American No. 2.
Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy want to be the GOP’s nominee, but are they realistically doing anything but auditioning to be Trump’s veep/fig leaf?
This week, Biden seems to be paying more than lip service to diversity. With the addition of the granddaughter of Cesar Chavez as his campaign manager, Biden kicks off his run for re-election by checking off all the boxes.
Let the cynics sneer. Biden’s all-inclusive, determined not to be defeated by racism or sexism.
But ageism? As I’ve said, that’s another matter.
Ageist America
In recent polls, only one in four Americans wants an encore for Biden-Harris. Seventy percent overall say he shouldn’t run.
And the sentiment is coming from all directions. More than half of all Biden supporters from 2020 say he shouldn’t run. And these are people who like him.
Younger voters, those under 35 representing the future of our nation, are ready to put Biden to bed. Seventy-six percent of young voters say Biden shouldn’t run.
And when pollsters asked for a reason why he shouldn’t, poll respondents all mentioned the primary concern: Biden’s age.
Biden will be 82 when he starts a second term, and 86 when he leaves.
So how did America, herself 247 this year, become so ageist?
If you want experience and qualifications, Biden’s accomplishments in his first term are not insignificant. They make Biden more than just a transition president after the four wayward years of Trump. Biden is also the transition guy into America’s diverse political future.
Fortunately, most everything he’s done has been better than his predecessor, from COVID to smoothing over race relations. Biden was there with executive orders to defend Asian Americans after the scapegoating pandemic attacks on our community. Add his infrastructure package and the CHIPS Act to bring tech manufacturing back to America, and Biden just doesn’t get the credit for how good his first term has been.
Yes, there are still economic concerns over inflation and recession fears, but there are still more positives than naysayers will admit. One thing is constant: the right will talk about solutions helping corporations and the wealthy. Only Biden talks about helping real working-class Americans.
Maybe that’s why detractors bring up his age.
You expect it from Republicans. On the day Tucker Carlson was fired from Fox News, his replacement played old videos of Biden in various doddering gaffes. Not serious, mind you. But Biden is caught looking as silly as Mr. Magoo. In one clip, Biden spells the number eight, “e-i-g-h.” Ha ha? Fox must think this is a race for middle school student body president.
Still, compare any of that to the current Republican standard bearer, known for his bootlicking of Putin and love letters to Kim Jong Il. And need I mention the aforementioned non-mentioned is also the twice impeached, soon to be the twice indicted former president?
I think America still would prefer a president with zero criminal indictments.
But that doesn’t help the GOP, so Fox’s debate tactic is to make fun of old people like Biden. It’s a strange and alienating ad hominem style, and I hope all voters 65 and over take note.
Don’t let the ageists marginalize Biden because of his birthday. If they can do it to the president, what can be done to me or you?
Is it fair to be discriminated against just because of your time on earth?
What surprises me is the number of Democrats who tell pollsters they too want someone else younger.
And yet who among the younger Democrats has had the guts to come forward to challenge Biden?
So we have Joe. And Kamala.
In a second term with age a key issue, expect Harris, as the all-important No. 2, to be tested and targeted for her readiness.
And watch the GOP deploy the three-headed monster of divisive attacks–racism, sexism, and ageism.
Thirty years ago, I was naive to think that ageism might someday bring us together and end all our divisive issues. I figured we’d all just be staring at each other, nodding in agreement as we get older.
After all, we’d have something in common that cuts across race, gender, and class. Enough so that we might be able to acknowledge our humanity.
But it hasn’t happened that way, and already some of us have found that ageism is just as bad and discriminatory as the worse racism and sexism we could ever experience.
We already can see how victories of the past, such as voting rights and abortion rights, are being challenged and reversed.
It means the 2024 campaign could decide the direction of America for the next four to five decades. If that happens, it could be, as they say, one for the ages.
It shouldn’t be one for the ageists.
Not if Dark Brandon can help it.
NOTE: I will talk about this column and other matters on “Emil Amok’s Takeout,” my AAPI micro-talk show. Live @2p Pacific. Livestream on Facebook; my YouTube channel; and Twitter. Catch the recordings on www.amok.com.
.
