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My former boss, President George H.W. Bush, chose not to challenge Bill Clinton again for the presidency of the United States in the 1996 election, having lost to him three years earlier. If he had run and won, he would have been 72 at the 1997 inauguration. Instead, he enjoyed a great second act filled with humanitarian causes, skydiving and grandchildren. Bush’s post-presidential life, and American ideals of retirement in general, raise the question of why Joe Biden (80) and Donald Trump (77) – who are more than a decade and a half beyond the average American retirement age – are stepping forward again for one of the hardest jobs in the world.
Biden and Trump aren’t the only aging leaders in the U.S. It’s a bipartisan trend. What’s going on? I offer my thoughts below.
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Donald Trump, left, and Joe Biden, both photographed on Nov. 2, 2023, are two of the three oldest men ever to serve as president.
Trump: Brandon Bell/Getty Images; Biden: AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Mary Kate Cary, University of Virginia
Many years beyond the average American retirement age, politicians vie for power and influence. Their constituents tend to prefer they step back and pass the torch to younger people.
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YanaBu, Shutterstock
Katrin Meissner, UNSW Sydney; Deepashree Dutta, University of Cambridge; Martin Jucker, UNSW Sydney
Back when there were Arctic alligators and turtles, ‘polar stratospheric clouds’ kept their world warm. Research suggests these clouds contribute to the ‘missing warming’ in climate models.
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Maria Orlova/Pexels
Liz Evans, University of Tasmania
Sad Bad Girl novels combine the haplessness of Bridget Jones with the despair of Sally Rooney. Liz Evans assesses a ‘buzzy’ debut within the genre and a #MeToo novel that refreshingly defies categories.
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Allen Cheng, Monash University
Antibiotics have been around for less than a century. But as resistant bacteria become increasingly difficult to treat, we risk a greater number of deaths from infections.
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Malak Benslama-Dabdoub, Royal Holloway University of London
At present the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ruled out a ceasefire but may allow ‘little pauses’.
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Tonny Raymond Kirabira, University of Portsmouth
King Charles III’s recent statements are a reflection of the progress Kenya has made in seeking redress for colonial-era legacies.
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Seung Hwan (Mark) Lee, Toronto Metropolitan University; Omar H. Fares, Toronto Metropolitan University
Understanding the traits of different customer groups can help shoppers and businesses serve their communities more ethically and effectively, especially in times of crisis.
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Emilia Lamonaca, Università di Foggia; Fabio Gaetano Santeramo, Università di Foggia; Martina Bozzola, Queen's University Belfast
As global warming accelerates, a new study indicates that new trading patterns could develop as an adaptation strategy.
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Akosua Keseboa Darkwah, University of Ghana; Geraldine Asiwome Ampah, University of Ghana
Primary identities are foundational and serve as the core part of an individual’s identity.
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Sam Edwards, Loughborough University
The film pays homage to the war generation, revels in forties nostalgia and stakes an assertive British claim to the memory of the Allied invasion.
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