Amid the corridors of Atlanta, trepidation among the many Democratic enclave intensifies in regards to the functionality of octogenarian President Joe Biden to satisfy his govt duties or thwart the ascension of Donald Trump. Historic precedents from earlier presidential campaigns present insights, but they scarcely supply grounds for optimism.

Reflecting on Lyndon B. Johnson’s period in 1968, a sample emerges the place a number of incumbents, eligible for one more time period, encountered formidable main adversaries or confronted existential questions relating to their re-election pursuits. Figures reminiscent of George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford persevered to safe their social gathering’s nomination, solely to fulfill defeat within the subsequent common election. Johnson, in distinction, selected to step apart, leading to a Democratic loss regardless.

In distinction, Biden confronted no substantial main opposition. Nevertheless, his confidants have conceded his lackluster efficiency within the debate in opposition to Trump. Issues simmer relating to Biden’s capability to control till the age of 86 and, extra pressingly, his potential to retain workplace by overcoming the Republican ex-president—who, at 78, contends with a felony conviction, a number of indictments, and voter apprehensions about his ethos and disposition.

The harbinger from historical past is foreboding: Incumbent presidents nonetheless endeavoring to solidify and placate their social gathering’s base this late of their inaugural time period seldom safe a second time period.