Reagan Son Claims Dad Had Alzheimer's as President

[cali]

By Paul Bedard

Posted: January 14, 2011


2011 is a big year for Ronald Reagan fans, being the centennial of his February 6 birth in Tampico, Ill. But youngest son Ron Reagan is spoiling the good cheer with a new book that suggests the Gipper suffered from Alzheimer's disease while in the White House, a claim dismissed by Reagan's doctors and outside experts. "Had the diagnosis been made in, say, 1987, would he have stepped down?" Ron asks, regarding the disease confirmed in 1994. "I believe he would have," he writes in My Father At 100: A Memoir, due in bookstores Tuesday.

In addition to challenging the former president's doctors, Ron also reports for the first time that Reagan, right after falling off a horse six months out of the White House, underwent brain surgery, denied by Reagan associates.

Let's start with the Alzheimer's diagnosis. It was announced in 1994. While it prompted some to suggest they knew Reagan had the disease as president, his four White House doctors said they saw no evidence of it. But Ron, who became a liberal and atheist, disappointing his dad, suggests he saw hints of confusion and "an out-of-touch president" during the 1984 campaign and again in 1986, when his father couldn't recall the names of California canyons he was flying over. Arguing his case in the book, Ron adds that doctors today know that the disease can be in evidence before being recognized. "The question, then, of whether my father suffered from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's while in office more or less answers itself," he writes.

Besides playing amateur doctor, Ron Reagan reveals, if true, brain surgery on his dad never before reported. He accurately reports that Reagan, after leaving the presidency, was bucked from a horse on July 4, 1989, while in Mexico. Ron tells of how his dad, after initially refusing medical help, was transported to a San Diego hospital. "Surgeons opening his skull to relieve pressure on the brain emerged from the operating room with the news that they had detected what they took to be probable signs of Alzheimer's disease." Several Reagan associates, however, say there was no surgery in San Diego.

<snip>

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/01/14/reagan-son-claims-dad-had-alzheimers-as-president

[H2O Man]

1. I think that

everyone was aware of that.

[Ineeda]

12. Many times I

thought he manifested a confused aspect or an odd blankness. He often seemed to smile in reflex, rather than genuinely, as if someone had said "say cheese" and he blindly obeyed. I also remember how he would cup his ear, as if he couldn't hear questions thrown at him en route to or from Marine One. I believed then and do now, that he was covering up that he didn't understand the question or didn't know the answer. Or both.I totally believe his son's analysis.

[liberal N proud]

2. Remember the Saturday Night Live skits

The would have meeting with Reagan in the room and it would be off the wall. As soon as he would leave, they would change the charts and start talking about real government issues. The perception was that they didn't let him make any decisions.

[SteppingRazor]

11. I think you're remembering that wrong.

In the skit, Reagan acts like a total buffoon while there are members of the public in the room, but as soon as he's alone with his staff, he turns into this steely eyed, cutthroat, Machiavellian type.


Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4j7W4BiILM



Of course, the humor relies on the same central point -- the idea that Reagan was in any way capable is hysterical.

[liberal N proud]

23. Thanks for the memory jog and posting the clip

[SteppingRazor]

29. Thanks for reminding me of it.

I'd forgotten about it till I read what you wrote. It's a classic. :)

[Vickers]

3. "his four White House doctors said they saw no evidence of it"

Have their licenses revoked.

[Vinca]

4. I remember Nancy always by his side prompting him on what to say.

In any case, I think Ron would know.

[malaise]

5. Notice the liberal and atheist spin

I'll take a son's words over all of them.

[bdamomma]

10. I think Reagan's son Ron is so good a true liberal

he still makes appearances on Hardball sometimes.

[MineralMan]

6. Old news. I remember a speech Reagan gave, where his wife

was cueing him in his ear when he forgot what he was saying. I clearly remember telling my wife I thought that the man had Alzheimer's.

[opihimoimoi]

7. common sense and logic sez he shoulda resigned.....incapacited by illness....that he didn't

reveals a nefarious situation not good for the Nation....his HANDLERS did not have the Nations best interest in mind...

[Drale]

8. Ok this might not be cool but I have to say it

and republicans still think he was the greatest president, who sad is that?

[immoderate]

25. He who governs least...

--imm

[JohnnyLib2]

9. Having just lost a sibling to Alzheimer's,

I can say that everyone concerned spends a lot of energy in hindsight-- and no two agree.

[Ms. Toad]

36. On the other hand

Alzheimer's is missed completely in a lot of accomplished individuals. The neurologist's reaction to my concerns about my spouse was, "She's in a PhD program - she can't have anything serious wrong." Four years later, after flunking out of the PhD program, and is being treated for Alzheimer's Disease.

Family observations are often a lot more accurate for early identification than medical observations - particularly with someone who typically performs above average. Essentially, folks at the top of the performance have 100s of ways to access something in their memory banks - so if half of them get knocked out they still have way more than average - but I notice the difference.

[JohnnyLib2]

38. I'm very sorry to hear of your situation.

Our family also caught the symptoms first,at age 54, and had to go past the PCP who was a colleague. Long, hard road. :hug:

[Ms. Toad]

40. Thanks.

It took about 6 years after I started noticing symptoms before I got someone to take my observations seriously (she's now 58). It's still early (relative to when most are diagnosed), but it has already been a long hard road - with lots left in front of us. As I'm sure you know nearly everyone (including to physicians) still have a hard time grasping what they are seeing in people who are young or perform well relative to the general population.

[Broderick]

13. Duh - obvious

What did I just say?

[get the red out]

14. My whole family thought so at the time

My Grandmother was suffering from Alzheimer's at the time and my parents (I was in college then) certainly thought Reagan showed some signs terribly familiar to them when they would see him making TV appearances.

[Catherina]

15. This was the world's worst kept secret but thanks for the confirmation Ron. Rec'd n/t

[benld74]

16. He had a brain?

[mahina]

17. That was a key moment, when people behind the President understood

that having an incompetent in office who would read the speeches they gave him, and do what he was told, was key to their success.

* and Caribou Barbie are modeled in his image. Real power will keep looking for the next actor.

[WinkyDink]

18. An operation the SON says is true, and is DENIED by "associates"?!

OMG.

[Rex]

19. Yep, knew that decades ago. Should have been removed from office.

Of course the Repukes LOVED Reagan - he slept through most of their thefts.

[lpbk2713]

20. This is why Nancy's astrologer was running the country.

RayGun was a basket case at the time.

[uppityperson]

21. What not a surprise. I do hate Alzheimer's disease and pity any with it.

[spanone]

22. that's a very interesting article.

there are some pretty wild discrepancies between the historical version and ron juniors'.

[Bucky]

24. Reagan had a long history of getting facts wrong long before 1984.

He had an ideology-driven memory long before he had Alzheimer's. That inattention to detail may have made diagnosing the disease a bit harder to detect.

[kalli007]

26. Even though I was a toddler when he was pres...

I distinctly remember my mom mentioning that he would nod off in meetings....

[ChoppinBroccoli]

27. I Thought This Had Already Been Established As Fact Years Ago

I thought everyone knew that Reagan's Alzheimer's was so bad that he was practically infirm/incompetent for about the last 2 years of his presidency. My high school history teacher taught us in the late '80s that Nancy Reagan was the acting president for 2 years.

[sad sally]

28. Most people who have family members with Alzheimer's

recognized the absent look in Reagan's eyes while he was president, not to mention the constant correcting his administration would have to engage in the day after he'd say something not exactly right. It was obvious to many of us he wasn't the person in charge the last 2-3 years of his second term - yes, his loving spouse helped him with day-to-day living - as many AD care givers do, but we often wondered who was really making decisions for the country.

This is a dreadful disease; it's the saddest thing to watch someone you love disappear, and surprising how long it can last. For many of us who have watched parents suffer and die with AD, we know we may be the next victims in line and are glad for right-to-die with dignity laws.

[NightWatcher]

30. no shit! he was a happy dunce for evil men behind the scenes

evil men, one of whom had his drunk son take the post a few years later.

File under: water is wet

[Urban Prairie]

31. The entire GOP displays various symptoms of Alzheimer's, as far as I am concerned

Especially that orange-tinted sloth...er...I mean SOTH.

[Blue-Jay]

32. I'm shocked!

SHOCKED, I say.

:silly:

[JuniperLea]

33. That makes his relying on psychics and astrological charts...

For his every move seem downright sensible.

[Johonny]

34. I know they talked about how the shooting

took a lot out of him. He wasn't the same person after that day.

You'd think Reagan associates would be more than happy to back this up since much of his last two years were a total fucking disaster.

[begin_within]

35. But he looked so competent:

[UTUSN]

37. K&R #14 for, I love Junior more for truth-telling. Where's Patty?!1 n/t

[tavalon]

39. In other news, water found to be wet

Even Saturday Night Live was parodying it way back then.

[LeftishBrit]

41. In hindsight, there were at any rate signs of cognitive deterioration

All the verbal slip-ups and confusions that he showed: e.g. 'Chairman Moe' for 'President Doe' and 'I am happy to be in Peru' when he was really in Bolivia. And the time when he said several times in one speech, 'America has a lot to offer the third world war' when he meant 'the Third World'. (Or maybe he did mean what he said!)

Of course some people show such confusions frequently without having any disorder at all, but Reagan had been a fairly successful professional actor. While such a profession does not require particular wisdom, it does require verbal memory: an ability to remember your lines. That Reagan had become so bad at this skill by the time he was president should, on hindsight - which is always 20/20 of course - have given rise to some questions about his cognitive state.

Oliver Sacks wrote in a chapter 'The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat' about neurological patients' reactions to a speech by Reagan. In Sacks' view, Reagan was good at appealing to - and fooling - people by a combination of verbal and nonverbal communication skills. People with impairments in processing either type of communication were less fooled by Reagan than 'normal' people were. Patients with severe language comprehension impairment could only perceive his gestures and the tone of his voice - and they roared with laughter at his seriously-intended speech. A patient whose language was normal, but who could not perceive voice tones and the emotions conveyed in speech, commented that Reagan's speech was 'not cogent' and that he was either lying or suffering from brain damage. Indeed, it would seem that this patient was very perceptive, and that the president was probably both lying *and* suffering from a brain disorder.

[fishwax]

42. as others have posted, I remember plenty of speculation at the time

not a huge surprise, this news ...