The questions about Biden's age and fitness are reminiscent of another campaign: Reagan's in 1984

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Walter Mondale,Elections,Health

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan answered the age question with a clever joke that reset his campaign from a stumbling debate performance to a 49-state landslide and a second term.

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"I will not make age an issue of this campaign," Reagan said to the question he knew was coming in perhaps the most famous mic-drop moment in campaign history."I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience."The audience roared, even Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale laughed — and Reagan's reelection was back on track.

“If I were president and had any feeling at all that my capabilities had been reduced before a second term came, I would walk away,” he told the New York Times on June 10, 1980."By the same token, I would step down also.” For Reagan, the age issue faded in his first term as any health questions focused on his recovery from a nearly fatal assassination attempt in 1981. He seemed headed for an easy reelection. And debates seemed natural settings for the smooth-talking former Hollywood actor. But his performance in the first showdown with Mondale in the 1984 campaign brought the age issue roaring back.

 

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