Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Politics In General Ron Reagan: Alzheimer's seen during presidency

Ronald Reagan's son: Alzheimer's seen during presidency



Reagan should have retired for health reasons at the end of his first term, if not before that. We have a system in place that will keep up a facade even when a president is incapacitated, dismissing anyone protesting as partisan.

Nancy and his other handlers did the same sort of things that Edith Wilson did for about 18 months from 1919 to March of 1921, only for a lot longer and with a lot more secrecy. The Presidency as an institution was vastly different from what it had been two generations earlier, much more "public."

Maybe our Presidential debates should have real qualified debate judges and scoreboards: Their current form relies on viewers to act as the judges, and most don't seem qualified to judge anything other than "how candidate X made me feel".

On the other hand, even the least-sophisticated viewer understands a scoreboard. If a debater consistently wandered off-topic and failed to respond to their opponent's points, then real judges would dock them points. A blow-out would make it very clear that the loser is not fit to serve, even if he or she IS good-looking or has an endearing personality.

I think that "judging" a debate is open to all sorts of subjectivity

Moe effective IMO would be mandatory yearly medical testing for cognitive impairment after the age of 60. and every 3 months should any test show potential cause for concern. After a fourth test with abnormal results, the results should be made public.

The political reality is that when a president loses power, those around him will also lose power... and so there is a tremendous incentive to ignore any problem.

Individuals afflicted with cognitive impairment become fairly expert at covering up their limitations... not wanting to admit the problem to themselves, or to others. Also, this sort of affliction tends to be variable in it's manifestation... so that, in the initial stages, very often the person will seem entirely normal and you think you must be imagining something.

IMO the Iran Contra affair was a clear indication of how government operations can get out of control when the chief executive is not in full command of his cognition.

Proper title of thread: Like, duh, dad had Alzheimer's.

When the good President would rather take naps and watch TV and turn things over to his VP, GHW Bush, former CIA Chief, Iran-Contra involver, Ollie North's WH contact - something is going on - and I dare say - not showing sound judgment by the good President.

...and just who authorized the midnight tours of the White House in 1989 while the good President slept?

Most likely, a Bohemian Grove attendee

It still isnt well highlighted just how ill Roosevelt was during the last year of his presidency.

I had a personal contact with President Reagan and my appreciation of his desire for individual freedoms began to fade in his second term. The morning he was shot, Maureen, his daughter was in my office. I wanted to discuss this pro-choice daughter if her father would continue his agenda. The Secret Service moved her out and onto a plane for DC. I attended a convention in Seattle where Ron Junior was given a lovely award for his work for individuals. I will receive his book probably tomorrow and hope he can clarify the difference in agenda items during his Dad's second term.

President Reagan did not have a quick-fire response to anything, including the debates, and took time to put his words before the audience. I received many emails claiming I have been lying about this great man's agenda. The religious right has come to believe that he brought in the Evangelical concepts into the government. I can never understand his lack of action under the threat of AIDs. I hope the book clears this up.

I understood the Fiscal Conservativism that brought Ronald Reagan into running for Governor. I was a Docent at the Hearst Castle where he was around for the new building that helped explain the Hearst Empire and how the castle was planned. It was the only Park that made money and helped keep the other parks open to the public. He loved this..... He was not an ogre and of course his coming from Hollywood put many people off as the center of sin in America.

Seeing many take apart several elected leaders of this nation, makes me very sad. If any leader needed a test for ethics, truth and leadership, it not President Reagan. I would look to the White House before President Obama was elected.

This supposed "secret" highlights how different the world is today. Journalist help cover up the fact that he was in the early stages of his disease. The Republicans have been in denial for many years, hell just alluding to the fact that he had the disease while in office sends them off the deep end. I've never understood how anyone could not think he was in the early stages given the slow progression of the disease. Rita Hayworth began her decent at only around 40 years old. It sad to see any family have to deal with a relative who has Alzheimer's but it pisses me off that no thought just possibly the leader of the free world should possess all his faculties.

If it is true that he actually was in the early stages of Alzheimers, does that mean he was not capable of carrying out the duties of his office? If so, perhaps it demonstrated that the president is superfluous to the running of the state (not to be conflated with the government). Just musing.
Yours,
Issodhos