Biden’s age is a real issue. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to talk about.

In Thursday night’s debate, Julián Castro tried out a potentially fruitful line of attack against poll leader Joe Biden. But he might have bungled the execution.

While sparring over the details of health-care policy, Castro repeatedly claimed that Biden had forgotten what he said only two minutes earlier. You can read the transcript here, but the subtext seemed clear: Castro was suggesting that Biden, in his old age, had become more forgetful and less mentally present.

In my view, Castro came off as overly aggressive. And I’m not sure that his attack will end up damaging Biden’s popularity or increasing his own. But broaching the issue of Biden’s age might have been a smart move in the medium term. CONT.

David Byler, Washington Post