To the Editor:
Re “Most Biden Voters of 2020 Fear He’s Too Old to Lead” (front page, March 4):
Donald Trump’s speech in Richmond, Va., on Saturday was chock-full of slurred words, confusion, strange non sequiturs and other red flags that anyone who has watched a family member’s mental decline would have no trouble recognizing. But The New York Times runs a front-page article about how unpopular President Biden is and voters’ worries about his age.
Please drop the pretense that there is anything like “equivalency” in the choice between candidates! The real story this election cycle is the fact that the putative Republican nominee has serious, observable signs of mental decline. Nothing Joe Biden says or does comes even close!
Meredith Dytch
Chicago
To the Editor:
Joe Biden may or may not be too old to lead the country, but either way the only alternative is Donald Trump. Mr. Biden, the oldest president in history, has done a good job in a difficult time, with a paralyzed Congress and the wreckage left by his predecessor.
By contrast, Mr. Trump did a terrible job, filled his cabinet with corrupt incompetents and focused on enriching himself, to the great detriment of the American people.
Given the choice between Mr. Biden, 81, and Mr. Trump, who turns 78 in June, I’ll take Mr. Biden any day. And that’s the only choice there is.
So, if Democrats want a second Trump term, with all its nightmarish implications, then go ahead and worry about Mr. Biden’s age, go ahead and vote for someone else as a protest, go ahead and stay home on Election Day. But I’m not. I’m voting for Joe.
Tim Shaw
Cambridge, Mass.
To the Editor:
Let me stipulate that I am a progressive, lifelong Democrat, and I am disgusted with Joe Biden. Why? It’s not because of what he has or has not accomplished; it’s because of what he said in his last campaign and reneged on.
In 2020, Joe Biden, then a candidate, proclaimed that if elected, he would be a transitional leader who would pass the baton to a younger cohort of aspiring party leaders. We can endlessly speculate on why he has chosen not to do so, but the hubris he’s demonstrating in ignoring his advancing age may well propel Donald Trump into the presidency.
I guess Mr. Biden believes that he can overcome the doubts of almost three-quarters of voters in your poll who feel that he’s just too old to be effective in another term. Joe, you had a chance to cement your legacy, to do the right thing, and you did not do so. Let us just hope and pray that your country does not pay the price for your ego-driven myopia.
Ken Derow
Swarthmore, Pa.
To the Editor:
Your article about the New York Times/Siena College poll is important given the high stakes in the 2024 presidential election.
I am a big fan of Joe Biden given his accomplishments, people skills, mental acuity and decency. But this poll is troubling to me, I must say. I am not giving up on President Biden in 2024, since I do believe that he is still very effective and likely will remain so for his term in office, if re-elected.
However, you would be doing a great service to all of us who see Donald Trump as an existential threat and danger to our democracy if there were a poll of our most appealing alternative, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, against Mr. Trump to see if folks who could never conceive of voting for Mr. Trump would favor Ms. Whitmer by a big margin. If so, that would be something significant for Mr. Biden to consider, given the high stakes.
Gerald C. Sternberg
Madison, Wis.
To the Editor:
Regarding the Times-Siena College poll of sentiment among voters, one of the most ridiculous questions is “Do you think the United States is on the right track, or is it headed in the wrong direction?”
Many voters like me would respond “no” to that survey question. But that question is so open-ended (or flawed) that it could trigger thoughtful people to respond negatively because of issues like the lack of sane gun control laws, lack of access to abortion, the activist Supreme Court or the rise of Christian nationalism, embodied in the current speaker of the House. I don’t think voters attribute all of their frustrations over such issues to President Biden.
Maybe The Times needs to ask better questions.
Carol Broadbent
Silicon Valley, Calif.
Fight On, Nikki Haley
To the Editor:
Thank you, Bret Stephens, for encouraging Nikki Haley to continue running despite all the odds against her (“Nikki Haley’s Last Ditch,” column, Feb. 28).
Under normal circumstances it would make sense for her to quit, knowing that she has almost no chance of winning, and to support the presumptive nominee. However, these are not normal times, and considering that the last man standing is the most corrupt and unworthy individual who ever ran for president, with many criminal charges against him, I believe she is doing the most noble thing by staying in the race in order to try to save our democracy and our sanity.
Thank you, Nikki, for your courage and your persistence. We need you more than ever!
Joshua Rosenthal
Queens
To the Editor:
I am a lifelong Democrat who deeply admires Nikki Haley and Liz Cheney and am glad that I have conservative women to offer to my granddaughter as role models.
Fight to the last ditch, Nikki. More people than you know are counting on you to hold the line.
Carole Huxel
Goffstown, N.H.
Airdrops to Gaza Aren’t Enough
To the Editor:
Re “U.S. Begins Airdrops of Humanitarian Aid in Gaza” (nytimes.com, March 2):
We have each studied and written about war and other humanitarian crises for more than 40 years. We know of few other situations as desperate as that now facing the two million residents of Gaza.
With dwindling access to food, water, shelter and health services and the deterioration of hygiene and sanitation, this humanitarian crisis is on the precipice of becoming a far greater catastrophe.
The situation is especially desperate for the many infants and young children who are severely malnourished and are at extremely high risk of dying from diarrheal disorders, measles and other infectious diseases.
Airdropping aid is a step in the right direction, but it is unlikely to be adequate to address extremely desperate needs. Adequate food, water, shelter and medical supplies must be provided immediately, and many more humanitarian aid workers must be permitted to enter Gaza.
Jennifer Leaning
Barry S. Levy
Dr. Leaning is a professor emeritus of the practice of health and human rights at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Levy is a past president of the American Public Health Association and an adjunct professor of public health at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Death in Gaza
To the Editor:
“Lives Ended in Gaza” (front page, March 4) was a profile of contradictions that tore at my heart in two ways.
First, it was heartbreaking to see the faces of those Gazans whose lives, along with their dreams, were taken away so suddenly. Second, it was heartbreaking to read that many of the victims supported Hamas’s murderous incursion into Israel and the killing of Jews on Oct. 7.
I wanted to weep — and scream.
Steven Cohen
New York