I was talking with a coworker about the state of the country. We arrived at the conclusion that Joe Biden is an apt representation of where America is in the cycle of empire. We're old and senile, but we don't know it. If we do, we won't admit it. It's fitting that, as the world changes and the "new American century" seizes up, the likely options for president are older approaching their terms than any president has been leaving office.