Biden for President?

[Cabbage]

Would you like to present evidence that Reagan was exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's during his second run for office in 1984? He wasn't diagnosed with the disease until 1993, nine years later.

This is from 1986, not 1984, but I'll present it anyway:

But during his second term, Reagan did show worrisome signs of diminished mental capacity, according to Lesley Stahl. In the book she published in 2000, Reporting Live, Stahl recounts a disturbing encounter she had with Reagan in the summer of 1986. Stahl was finishing up a stint as CBS News’ White House correspondent, and she was awarded the customary farewell audience with the president. As she, her husband, and her eight-year-old daughter were about to enter the Oval Office, Reagan’s press secretary, Larry Speakes, told Stahl, “No questions at all, about anything.” Stahl was angered by this, but she soon saw why Speakes had issued this instruction. When she and her family entered the office, the 75-year-old Reagan was standing by a Remington sculpture of a rearing horse, and Stahl immediately began to fret:

Reagan was as shriveled as a kumquat. He was so frail, his skin so paper-thin. I could almost see the sunlight through the back of his withered neck…His eyes were coated. Larry introduced us, but he had to shout. Had Reagan turned off his hearing aid?

…Reagan didn’t seem to know who I was. He gave me a distant look with those milky eyes and shook my hand weakly. Oh, my, he’s gonzo, I thought. I have to go out on the lawn tonight and tell my countrymen that the president of the United States is a doddering space cadet. My heart began to hammer with the import…I was aware of the delicacy with which I would have to write my script. But I was quite sure of my diagnosis.

Stahl tried to fill the silence, telling Reagan that her daughter used to tell everyone that the president works for her mommy, but after Reagan took office, she started saying that her mother worked for the president.

I wasn’t above a little massaging. Was he so out of it that he couldn’t appreciate a sweet story that reflected well on him? Guess so. His pupils didn’t even dilate. Nothing. No reaction.

I'll also share a small anecdote (I'm not presenting this as serious evidence, just something to share): I used to have a book called, I believe: Baked Potatoes: The Pot Smoker's Guide to the Movies (it's in storage somewhere and I don't have easy access to it; maybe someone else here has the book and can back this up). Anyway, the book was published in the 90s after Reagan's Alzheimer's diagnosis. One of the "movies" referenced was Reagan's SOTU speech in, I forget the year, but I'm thinking '84 or '85. The write up claimed it was clear in that speech that Reagan was out of it. I've not seen it, myself, but with Youtube and all it would be easy to find if we could track down the year.

 

[Beelzebuddy]

I don't think you really do believe that. You can't explain away their endorsements without admitting they don't think Biden has dementia so you go for the absurd.

I don't think he has dementia, I think he just has the olds. But if he did, I don't think anyone would want to rock the boat. They'd endorse him, push him into office on momentum, and quietly start prepping his VP to take over when he resigns.

No one was accusing Trump of having dementia. Of being a bully, a liar, a narcissist? Yes. But not of being non compos mentis.

I was. All it should take is a written transcript of anything he's said to make it plain the man is incoherent. If Biden were my relative I'd make sure he was getting neurological assessments in his checkups. If Trump were my relative I'd be hiding his car keys.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

I don't think he has dementia, I think he just has the olds. But if he did, I don't think anyone would want to rock the boat. They'd endorse him, push him into office on momentum, and quietly start prepping his VP to take over when he resigns.





I was. All it should take is a written transcript of anything he's said to make it plain the man is incoherent. If Biden were my relative I'd make sure he was getting neurological assessments in his checkups. If Trump were my relative I'd be hiding his car keys.

There is literally an entire thread on this forum where the topic is Trump's cognitive state. It is full of links to others' thoughts on that issue.

But "nobody" has ever said such things.

 

[Stacyhs]

This is from 1986, not 1984, but I'll present it anyway:

Quote:
But during his second term, Reagan did show worrisome signs of diminished mental capacity, according to Lesley Stahl. In the book she published in 2000, Reporting Live, Stahl recounts a disturbing encounter she had with Reagan in the summer of 1986. Stahl was finishing up a stint as CBS News’ White House correspondent, and she was awarded the customary farewell audience with the president. As she, her husband, and her eight-year-old daughter were about to enter the Oval Office, Reagan’s press secretary, Larry Speakes, told Stahl, “No questions at all, about anything.” Stahl was angered by this, but she soon saw why Speakes had issued this instruction. When she and her family entered the office, the 75-year-old Reagan was standing by a Remington sculpture of a rearing horse, and Stahl immediately began to fret

:

Quote:

Reagan was as shriveled as a kumquat. He was so frail, his skin so paper-thin. I could almost see the sunlight through the back of his withered neck…His eyes were coated. Larry introduced us, but he had to shout. Had Reagan turned off his hearing aid?

…Reagan didn’t seem to know who I was. He gave me a distant look with those milky eyes and shook my hand weakly. Oh, my, he’s gonzo, I thought. I have to go out on the lawn tonight and tell my countrymen that the president of the United States is a doddering space cadet. My heart began to hammer with the import…I was aware of the delicacy with which I would have to write my script. But I was quite sure of my diagnosis.
Stahl tried to fill the silence, telling Reagan that her daughter used to tell everyone that the president works for her mommy, but after Reagan took office, she started saying that her mother worked for the president.

Quote:
I wasn’t above a little massaging. Was he so out of it that he couldn’t appreciate a sweet story that reflected well on him? Guess so. His pupils didn’t even dilate. Nothing. No reaction.

I'll also share a small anecdote (I'm not presenting this as serious evidence, just something to share): I used to have a book called, I believe: Baked Potatoes: The Pot Smoker's Guide to the Movies (it's in storage somewhere and I don't have easy access to it; maybe someone else here has the book and can back this up). Anyway, the book was published in the 90s after Reagan's Alzheimer's diagnosis. One of the "movies" referenced was Reagan's SOTU speech in, I forget the year, but I'm thinking '84 or '85. The write up claimed it was clear in that speech that Reagan was out of it. I've not seen it, myself, but with Youtube and all it would be easy to find if we could track down the year.

It is entirely possible that Reagan was beginning to show signs of Alzheimer's during his last couple of years in office. But as Stahl also says, Reagan 'recovered' during that same meeting. She also stated that

... after that Oval Office encounter with Reagan, she discussed with her producers whether to report on Reagan’s mental condition. “I would have to have skirted around the words ‘senility,’ ‘Alzheimer’s,’ ‘dementia,'” she notes. “I would have been declaring the president unfit to serve, or at least raising the possibility.” That undoubtedly would have set off a political detonation. And such a report would have suggested a White House cover-up—at a time when tense foreign policy matters were in the news and midterm elections were a few months off.

As I stated earlier, there is a big difference between protecting a sitting president who would "sometimes float away" but would then "pull himself together" and conspiring to INSTALL one with dementia. Yet some here would have us believe that is exactly what nine former Dem. candidates are doing.

 

[Stacyhs]

Quote:
No one was accusing Trump of having dementia. Of being a bully, a liar, a narcissist? Yes. But not of being non compos mentis.

I was. All it should take is a written transcript of anything he's said to make it plain the man is incoherent. If Biden were my relative I'd make sure he was getting neurological assessments in his checkups. If Trump were my relative I'd be hiding his car keys.

As I previously pointed out to TragicMonkey, we were talking about those Republicans who later endorsed Trump. That does not include people who did not support Trump.

 

[Beelzebuddy]

As I previously pointed out to TragicMonkey, we were talking about those Republicans who later endorsed Trump. That does not include people who did not support Trump.

Well, that's a silly take. When was the last time any politician accused another in their same party of dementia? Even if they were certain enough to try to kick them into retirement, they wouldn't just say so outright. That wouldn't be politick.

 

[Sideroxylon]

As I stated earlier, there is a big difference between protecting a sitting president who would "sometimes float away" but would then "pull himself together" and conspiring to INSTALL one with dementia. Yet some here would have us believe that is exactly what nine former Dem. candidates are doing.

It is very clear that the billionaire establishment do not want Sanders in the Whitehouse. They may well have preferred Bloomberg over a flaky Biden but the wave of votes he rode on during Super Tuesday forced their hands. They have nobody else with a chance of stopping Sanders and his plans to tip the system back in favour of American workers and not billionaires who want a status quo where they pay low taxes and wages, if they don’t just move the jobs offshore to China.

And if Trump does wreck Biden and win another term, they still win.

 

[Stacyhs]

We can keep going around and around regarding Biden's alleged 'dementia', but until someone can provide some actual evidence that is more than just "watch this video!" and 'here's my personal, non-professional interpretation of it" it's nothing more than an opinion.

 

[angrysoba]

We can keep going around and around regarding Biden's alleged 'dementia', but until someone can provide some actual evidence that is more than just "watch this video!" and 'here's my personal, non-professional interpretation of it" it's nothing more than an opinion.

I agree. There is no point in trying to diagnose people with dementia or other mental ailments.

That said, the videos are what people will watch. We should be able to see that his performances are looking shaky at best.

I hope the Democrats can try to rectify his terrible speech and debate performances now, before the debates with Trump.

 

[Cabbage]

It is entirely possible that Reagan was beginning to show signs of Alzheimer's during his last couple of years in office. But as Stahl also says, Reagan 'recovered' during that same meeting. She also stated that



As I stated earlier, there is a big difference between protecting a sitting president who would "sometimes float away" but would then "pull himself together" and conspiring to INSTALL one with dementia. Yet some here would have us believe that is exactly what nine former Dem. candidates are doing.

With all due respect, even on this board when someone questions Biden's mental health, accusations of Russian Trolls and "Doing Trump's dirty work" begin to fly. There is, in fact, a taboo against questioning the mental health of a political opponent. I fully expect it to be broken by the Trump campaign against Biden this year, of course, and we shouldn't ignore that. However, I also find it quite plausible that that taboo (along with the backlash of the sort I just mentioned) might keep former Dem candidates from expressing concerns.

Note: I'm not claiming they are being kept silent. I'm claiming I don't think their silence is definitive evidence that they don't have concerns over Biden.

 

[Sideroxylon]

Or the people choose someone pushing the interests of workers instead of a grandfathered billionaires’ pick.

 

[Trebuchet]

The last several pages of this thread are why Trump will win. We are all screwed.

 

[angrysoba]

Can't vote for Sanders; he's a crazy old radical socialist from the 1960's who believes in the Lost Tribe of politics, and he'll never get his crazy universal healthcare through Congress and he praises Cuba and Stalin, and he's old and had a heart attack and he's not even a real Democrat, and his Bernie Bros are just like Donald Trump and, and, and...

Oh, look Biden made another embarrassing gaffe!

How dare you do Trump's work for him, passing on all the disinformation of the Russian bots and Putin must love you, and there is nothing wrong with Biden, he has always been this way and how can you even when the point is to get someone anyone elected just shut up shut up already!

 

[Sideroxylon]

If you have retirement and healthcare sorted go launch pumpkins and forget this stuff.

 

[Sideroxylon]

Can't vote for Sanders; he's a crazy old radical socialist from the 1960's who believes in the Lost Tribe of politics, and he'll never get his crazy universal healthcare through Congress and he praises Cuba and Stalin, and he's old and had a heart attack and he's not even a real Democrat, and his Bernie Bros are just like Donald Trump and, and, and...

Oh, look Biden made another embarrassing gaffe!

How dare you do Trump's work for him, passing on all the disinformation of the Russian bots and Putin must love you, and there is nothing wrong with Biden, he has always been this way and how can you even when the point is to get someone anyone elected just shut up shut up already!

Fair summary.

 

[Trebuchet]

If you have retirement and healthcare sorted go launch pumpkins and forget this stuff.

I'm trying; I really am. But I love this country, and bad things are happening to it.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

Notice that the word "criticism" has disappeared entirely.

Given that it's politics, there's going to be a lot of criticism that is irrational.

But no. There are only "attacks" now. They are part of grander strategies than we realize. Anything short of throwing rose petals at a candidate's feet are signs of complicity and acquiescence to the cabal of anarchists/plutocrats/Russians/robot overlords/lizard people.

 

[Sideroxylon]

I'm trying; I really am. But I love this country, and bad things are happening to it.

I am an idealist emotionally invested in the Enlightenment founding principles of America. That is when I am not embracing irony and absurdism, which is pretty often.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Notice that the word "criticism" has disappeared entirely.

Given that it's politics, there's going to be a lot of criticism that is irrational.

But no. There are only "attacks" now. They are part of grander strategies than we realize. Anything short of throwing rose petals at a candidate's feet are signs of complicity and acquiescence to the cabal of anarchists/plutocrats/Russians/robot overlords/lizard people.

Rose petals?! So, you're in the pockets of Big Flower, eh? I should have realized. Does the scent of roses cover the stench of your evilness? For shame!

 

[Stacyhs]

With all due respect, even on this board when someone questions Biden's mental health, accusations of Russian Trolls and "Doing Trump's dirty work" begin to fly. There is, in fact, a taboo against questioning the mental health of a political opponent. I fully expect it to be broken by the Trump campaign against Biden this year, of course, and we shouldn't ignore that. However, I also find it quite plausible that that taboo (along with the backlash of the sort I just mentioned) might keep former Dem candidates from expressing concerns.

Note: I'm not claiming they are being kept silent. I'm claiming I don't think their silence is definitive evidence that they don't have concerns over Biden.

Let me be clear: I'm an not accusing anyone in this thread of being a Russian troll. However the fact that a memo, falsely purporting to be from the Sanders Campaign, promoting the Biden 'dementia' accusation was disseminated immediately after Super Tuesday does raise the question of its origin. If not from the Sanders Campaign, then where? I don't think it's either illogical or improbable that it could be part of the verified Russia misinformation campaign. To deny that it's entirely possible is putting one's head in the sand.

If the Dems who endorsed Biden had concerns for his mental health but felt it was taboo to say so, then all they had to do was say nothing. Instead, they endorsed his candidacy. By doing so, some here would have us believe that they are so scared of Sanders winning that they'd knowingly put someone mentally incompetent (and bound to only get worse) into the most powerful position on earth. I find that preposterous.

Trump and his team are already attacking Biden's mental health.

At a “town hall” on Fox on Thursday, Trump cited verbal stumbles by Biden and asserted, “There’s something going on there.” Friday morning on Twitter, he said Biden would destroy Medicare and Social Security “and not even know he’s doing it.”

Rudy Giuliani attacked former Vice President Joe Biden for showing “obvious signs of dementia” as he moves closer to locking up the Democratic presidential nomination.

Donald Trump Jr.‏Verified account @DonaldJTrumpJr

In all fairness Biden has no idea what he’s saying or where he is most of the time. When will someone close to him finally say enough is enough? It’s not right anymore.

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP: You ever notice with Biden, he is always calling the wrong state? In your great state of Iowa? Iowa. It's Iowa, right? No, it's Wisconsin. I meant Wisconsin. Oh, I didn't know I was in Wisconsin. That's funny. How many times has he done that? By the way, lots of times. Great to be in the state of Ohio. No sir, you're in, you're in Florida.