I disagree with you and Benjamin. Anyone who has witnessed progressive dementia/senility knows there are good moments and no-so-good moments. Eventually that shifts to be just bad and worse moments. I had a great aunt who would converse with me quite normally one day and then not recognize me the next. Then eventually, she didn't ever recognize me and talked incessantly about how she was going to play her piano (which was lost in WWII).
The problem for Biden is that those no-so-good moments need to be above a certain level to fulfill the duties of President. And what we all saw on that debate stage was not above that level. Could you imagine that version of Biden taking charge in the Situation Room, handling a real crisis? Moreover, we don't know if that that was even one of the worst moments. What we do know is that IT ONLY GETS WORSE FROM HERE, NOT BETTER.
Biden needs to resign forthwith or be removed pursuant to the 25th amendment. We have vice presidents for these circumstances.
Do you have an example of where Biden screwed something up in the situation room because we’ve had several events recently which qualify and best I can tell it was handled fine
Of course not. I don't think either of us are privy to the details of those meetings.
But you completely missed the point, which is that dementia, alzheimer's, etc. can strike pretty randomly, with individuals oscillating quickly between lucidity and vapidity. In the case of a president, it's a little like a Russian roulette gun. So your assurance that a couple of chambers have hitherto been tested and found empty is of of no assurance whatsoever.
“He could have Alzheimer’s” is not a convincing argument to me either. I too have family members who declined as they aged and had Alzheimer’s. The decline comes but it varies, and it tends to speed up when you aren’t active. Biden is certainly active and, yes, he has declined but he does not remind me of my family members. I’m not going to demand the duly elected President remove himself because some people had old family members.
I saw it the same way. And I'm all too familiar with dementia myself, having cared for my mother for the last 15 years of her life, all through her long slide to the end. I don't see it in the president, either.
But is he too old for the job? I think it's fair to answer yes. I certainly believe that's the case. He may believe it, too. Had the GOP tacked back toward normalcy and not run Trump, he may not have run for reelection.
Unfortunately for all of us, that's not what happened. From his perspective, bowing out would mean sacrificing the power of incumbency and taking a flyer either on an unpopular vice president, or on one of the governors with much lower name recognition than he has, and betting they have the juice to win.
In all his extensive career (he was first elected to the Senate when I was in the fourth grade), this may be the most difficult political calculation he's ever had to make.
It reassured me he doesn’t need to resign
He still needs to withdraw
I agree on both counts.
I disagree with you and Benjamin. Anyone who has witnessed progressive dementia/senility knows there are good moments and no-so-good moments. Eventually that shifts to be just bad and worse moments. I had a great aunt who would converse with me quite normally one day and then not recognize me the next. Then eventually, she didn't ever recognize me and talked incessantly about how she was going to play her piano (which was lost in WWII).
The problem for Biden is that those no-so-good moments need to be above a certain level to fulfill the duties of President. And what we all saw on that debate stage was not above that level. Could you imagine that version of Biden taking charge in the Situation Room, handling a real crisis? Moreover, we don't know if that that was even one of the worst moments. What we do know is that IT ONLY GETS WORSE FROM HERE, NOT BETTER.
Biden needs to resign forthwith or be removed pursuant to the 25th amendment. We have vice presidents for these circumstances.
Do you have an example of where Biden screwed something up in the situation room because we’ve had several events recently which qualify and best I can tell it was handled fine
Of course not. I don't think either of us are privy to the details of those meetings.
But you completely missed the point, which is that dementia, alzheimer's, etc. can strike pretty randomly, with individuals oscillating quickly between lucidity and vapidity. In the case of a president, it's a little like a Russian roulette gun. So your assurance that a couple of chambers have hitherto been tested and found empty is of of no assurance whatsoever.
“He could have Alzheimer’s” is not a convincing argument to me either. I too have family members who declined as they aged and had Alzheimer’s. The decline comes but it varies, and it tends to speed up when you aren’t active. Biden is certainly active and, yes, he has declined but he does not remind me of my family members. I’m not going to demand the duly elected President remove himself because some people had old family members.
I saw it the same way. And I'm all too familiar with dementia myself, having cared for my mother for the last 15 years of her life, all through her long slide to the end. I don't see it in the president, either.
But is he too old for the job? I think it's fair to answer yes. I certainly believe that's the case. He may believe it, too. Had the GOP tacked back toward normalcy and not run Trump, he may not have run for reelection.
Unfortunately for all of us, that's not what happened. From his perspective, bowing out would mean sacrificing the power of incumbency and taking a flyer either on an unpopular vice president, or on one of the governors with much lower name recognition than he has, and betting they have the juice to win.
In all his extensive career (he was first elected to the Senate when I was in the fourth grade), this may be the most difficult political calculation he's ever had to make.
Refusing to take a neurological exam is disqualifying for the nomination, given the context.