The more people mock Joe Biden for his dire performance in the presidential debate, the more I have the urge to sympathise with him. We live in a society committed to rooting out “isms” wherever they may be, so why is ageism still a gladiatorial sport? Then again, the leader of the free world probably does need to have fewer catatonic moments than Biden appears to. Which is where his replacement comes in, a longed-for necessity if Donald Trump is to be kept out of the White House. Kamala Harris