Ron Reagan: Dad had signs of Alzheimer's while still president (as early as '84)

[WI_DEM]

Ron Reagan claims in his new book, My Father at 100, that former President Ronald Reagan had signs of Alzheimer's disease during the 1984 presidential campaign, Washington Whispers reports.

"Watching the first of his two debates with 1984 Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale, I began to experience the nausea of a bad dream coming true. At 73, Ronald Reagan would be the oldest president ever reelected. Some voters were beginning to imagine grandpa -- who can never find his reading glasses -- in charge of a bristling nuclear arsenal, and it was making them nervous. Worse, my father now seemed to be giving them legitimate reason for concern. My heart sank as he floundered his way through his responses, fumbling with his notes, uncharacteristically lost for words. He looked tired and bewildered."

"My father might himself have suspected that all was not as it should be. As far back as August 1986 he had been alarmed to discover, while flying over the familiar canyons north of Los Angeles, that he could no longer summon their names."

The younger Reagan also reports, for the first time, that his father underwent brain surgery after falling off a horse six months out of the White House and that doctors "emerged from the operating room with the news that they had detected what they took to be probable signs of Alzheimer's disease."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/01/14/reagan_had_signs_of_alzheimers_while_president.html#

[Recursion]

1. His official biographer said he never mentally recovered from the '81 shooting

He lost a lot of blood; Morris said he was never mentally the same.

[William769]

2. I still believe he had signs of Alzheimer's during the 1980 campaign.

Seriously.

[patricia92243]

4. Alzeheimers is noticable to family for years and years before it become obvious to others. n/t

[elocs]

3. It's easy to see signs of Alzheimers after the fact or claim you saw them as they occurred.

My mother has been in a nursing home now for more than 14 years and has Alzheimers and now we all recognize that there were signs of it years before she went into the home.

[pscot]

20. I remember watching that debate

I thought he was toast.

[Alexander]

5. Reagan's lead over Mondale was cut in half after that debate.

Mondale might have had a chance if Reagan had delivered a similar performance at the second debate.

Instead, Reagan delivered a clearly prepared answer at the second debate in response to the question about his age.

"I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I will not, for political purposes, exploit my opponent's youth and inexperience."

Even Mondale was laughing at that line, although I saw an interview with him where he said there were tears coming out of his eyes because he knew he just lost his chance to be president.

[bigwillq]

6. Duh.

Not surprised.

[TwilightGardener]

7. This is what always stuns me about Reagan worship--their god was losing his mind

the entire time he was in office.

[Zoeisright]

8. I'd put it earlier than that.

1982, to be more precise. My psychiatrist friend said that she could see it in his circular reasoning.

[creon]

9. yes

I suspect that he may have had Alzeimers

[bowens43]

10. no shit. it was pretty obvious.

the man was a babbling idiot.

[Arkansas Granny]

11. This does not surprise me in the least.

[NatBurner]

12. stop the presses!

lol at this "newsflash"

way to go there, cronkite

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

15. I'm pretty sure he wasn't talking to you but to right wingers who will deny this 'til

the day they die.

[jwirr]

13. When is a president that is not capable of governing due to illness

supposed to step aside and turn the government over to his VP? I have always wondered if the Constitution speaks to this issue. Not that I would have wanted Bush I but at least he would have been governing in the open instead of from behind the scenes.

[Raine1967]

16. The constitution does.

Article 2 speaks to this. Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 of the Constitution states:
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.


The 25th Amendment clarified it:
Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

[jwirr]

18. So the real problem would have been to prove that he was incapacitated

beyond the ability to govern. Wonder if anyone in the administration even though of it or were they too busy ripping off the joint to see it. To cover it up should be illegal.

[RufusTFirefly]

17. See Sections 3 and 4 of the 25th Amendment

Excerpted here for your convenience

Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

In a nutshell, either the President or a majority of his/her principal officers (i.e. the Veep and the Cabinet) or a majority of Congress may determine the President's inability to serve. If the latter, the President may contest the allegations by responding to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. If that happens, the majority that made the original allegation of inability must make it again within four days. If that happens, the Congress makes the final decision.

[bullwinkle428]

19. YES - it is a very slow and gradual descent. My father suffered for

years and years, and in retrospect, one can clearly see early signs of it, some 15+ years prior to his death.

[Alcibiades]

21. It happened on national television

I thought I saw it at the time. The thing is, though, that this sort of degenerative neurological disorder isn't always evident: Reagan would seem doddering one day, and sharp as a tack the next.

But by the end of his second term, it was pretty obvious. If you go back and compare his speeches from that era to the ones early in his administration, you'll see what I mean.

[RedEarth]

22. And right-wingers thought he was great....LOL!

[tanyev]

27. Bestest president evah!

When the bar is set that low, no wonder they think Sarah Palin would make a fine president.

[PatSeg]

43. It is the "idea of Reagan" that they thought was great

The Reagan they revere and the real Reagan are very different people, and he is evolving in their minds every year. In another ten or twenty years, he will have walked on water.

[slackmaster]

23. I agree with him. I remember times when his eyes would go blank for several seconds.

It's not scientific, but I got the impression he was losing it while he was in office.

[xxqqqzme]

25. Yes, I recall seeing him

on TV prior to '84 campaign. He looked up, and while looking into the camera his eyes went blank. Then he slipped into some story about shooting a film somewhere. At the time, my grandfather was slipping in and out of the here and now. I recognized the 'look' immediately.

[mistertrickster]

24. Finger on the bomb . . . oh, well, nothing to see here . . .

[Jennicut]

26. I could tell and I was a kid...it was clear he was not all there in the mid 80's.

[RBInMaine]

28. When asked about Iran Contra and he said "I don't remember." he wasn't lying.

[MadHound]

29. It was obvious to me at the time,

But then again, my grandmother had Alzheimer's, so I knew what I was looking at.

Reagan was the perfect puppet president. He gave a great speech and couldn't remember a thing.

[golfguru]

30. How can a Alzheimer's sufferer win 49/50 states? That is improbable

if not impossible. Therefore hard to believe. No way to prove
or disprove Ron Reagan's opinion. And it is strictly an opinion
because he is not medically qualified.

[verges]

31. How?

Easy. He gets more votes.

[golfguru]

32. An Alzeimer's patient is not smart enough to get landslide votes

He/she can't debate intelligently, remember simple facts.
Alzeimer's patients can't even remember their own names.
Reagan junior has no clue what he is talking about. He can
say anything which is hard to prove since his father is dead.

[Alexander]

33. He had a prepared answer in the second debate. See post #5.

As I've pointed out, Mondale was gaining on Reagan steadily after the first debate.

Had Reagan not uttered that famous line - which he obviously rehearsed, knowing he'd be asked about his performance in the prior debate - Mondale could very well have won.

The Mondale campaign was also inept - not only was he Carter's VP, he made a disastrous pledge to raise taxes, had very little charisma, and his choice of Ferraro as a running mate completely backfired.

[golfguru]

35. Virtually impossible

for Mondale to have won in 1984 no matter how inept Reagan looked.
The reasons are too many to regurgitate here. But I have observed
Alzheimer's first hand in the family. At a relatively young 65 and
in good physical health, my aunt could not even recognize us.

My guess is president Reagan in 1984 (70+ age) had the problem
of memory degradation. That is not necessarily Alzeimers. With real
Alzeimer's he could not have remembered any lines no matter how rehearsed.

[Alexander]

36. Virtually impossible for anyone here to make a diagnosis of Reagan.

Since Ron saw his father a great deal, I'll take his word over the word of any DUer.

[golfguru]

38. David Gergen and Reagan's Doctor agree with me

and David Gergen spend far more hours actually working with the
president than Ron Reagan junior, who was more busy with ballet dancing.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/01/14/gergen_responds_to_ron_reagan_president_did_not_alzheimers_in_office.html

Gergen also said Reagan "had a wonderful memory" and had no signs of Alzheimer's.

Ken Duberstein, Reagan's last Chief of Staff says Ron Reagan is just "trying to sell books."

Bill Bennett, Reagan's Secretary of Education says he did not witness any signs of Alzheimer's.

Reagan's doctor says the president did not show signs of the condition until 1993.

So Alexander, you would do better to listen to Reagan's Doctor, than his
ballet dancer son who has no medical background and trying to sell books by making some very controversial claims.

[Alexander]

40. Oh yes, I've forgotten how impartial advisors are at all times.

Cabinet members and former Chiefs of Staff are also completely impartial. :eyes:

It sounds more like the people who worked with Reagan do not want Americans to get the idea that a possibly senile man had his finger on the button. If you can question Ron Reagan's motives, I can question Gergen's.

Having watched his first debate with Mondale, it's obvious he was lost and confused and not mentally all there. Someone watching that debate would hardly be surprised to find that he was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

So golfguru, you would do better to stick to golf. I'm sure you are better at that than you are at any kind of medical diagnosis.

[golfguru]

41. Yes And if you need any help I will be happy to give

to improve your golf scores. By the way I am playing my best golf
ever in my 60's, which has come as a surprise to me.

As for the Alzeimer's diagnosis, I will rely on his doctor more
than any one else, including family members who are not trained
in medical practice.

[Alexander]

42. I'm not really into golf, but thanks.

As for presidential doctors, often times they can and do cover up what their patients prefer to hide.

This has happened with several presidents, and I would not be surprised to find out in the future that Reagan is another example.

[Tutankhamun]

37. And he took his official campaign slogan from a "Wendy's" fast food commercial:

"Where's the beef?"

[wishlist]

34. Nancy provided constance assistance to him, more than most WH wives

It was obvious to me all along that he had some degree of senile dementia that became increasingly worse over the years he was in office. Nancy was extremely protective of him, controlling his entire daily schedule of activities which were much more limited than most of our other Presidents.

[Forkboy]

39. He clearly forgot things like empathy and compassion first.