As a veteran, a Democrat and a former health care worker, I am gravely concerned about the fitness of President Joe Biden, (“A halting Biden tries to confront Trump at debate but sparks Democratic anxiety about his candidacy,” June 27). If a commercial airline pilot exhibited the confusion and lack of coherent thought exhibited by the president during the debate, that pilot should be denied the privilege to fly.

No individual has a right to the presidency; it is a privilege conferred by the American people. I could never in good conscience vote for a candidate who so obviously lacks the cognitive ability to perform the functions of the presidency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When a pilot has had a bad performance, it means that the passengers’ lives were put at risk. How can the president of the United States be held to a lesser standard?

Mark Gripp, McKenzie Bridge

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