Joe Biden was sworn into the U.S. Senate on Jan. 3, 1973. He remained in the Senate until Jan. 15, 2009 — a span of 36 years. If history is any guide, that alone is a disqualifier in Biden’s quest for the White House.
What does 36 years in the Senate say about a politician? It says he is a senator — not a president.
So the first reason Biden will not become president is that no one who served 36 years in the Senate has ever become president. No one who served 30 years in the Senate has ever become president. No one who served 25 years in the Senate has ever become president. No one who served 20 years in the Senate has ever become president. No one who served 15 years in the Senate has ever become president.
It’s not for lack of trying. Bob Dole, who was sworn into the Senate on Jan. 3, 1969, ran for president 27 years later, in 1996. He quit the Senate during the campaign to show his determination to become president. But his long years in the Senate, plus his age — he was 73 at the time and the subject of endless suggestions that he was too old to be president — were a deal-killer for voters.