Alzheimers Disease

43 Years Since Reagan Assassination Threat, And Dangers Ahead!

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It has been 43 years since the last direct threat against an American President.

Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981, and miraculously survived and recovered, although many observers think his later diagnosis of Alzheimers Disease may have been related to that shooting.

There have been threats against Presidents and other top government officials in the four decades since, thankfully without the kind of horrible experience that Reagan went through.

But the levels of verbal violence and threats has grown exponentially, and now Donald Trump has used violent rhetoric, incitig his supporters and threatening Joe Biden, federal judges, and others, claiming “freedom of speech”.

But “freedom of speech’ does have its limits, and there is a need to make that clear to Donald Trump and everyone else, on all sides of the political spectrum, that using incendiary rhetoric could lead to prosecution and imprisonment!

The fact that we have gone through the longest period of no turnover in the Presidency, and that the 25th Amendment has only been used twice, in 1973 and 1974, is a warning of the growing reality that the nation is likely to face growing odds of a transition that we have not faced in a half century since 1973-1974.

So the office of the Vice Presidency is more significant than ever, moving forward!

Pure Lies And Mistruths About Joe Biden’s Cognitive Abilities From Right Wing Media And Trumpites!

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Right wing news media, including Fox News Channel, OANN, and Newsmax; and numerous talk show hosts on these channels, and Trumpites as well, have been spreading lies and mistruths about President Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities.

The claim made is that Biden has Alzheimers or some other form of Dementia, and that he is unfit to serve as President.

Considering the mental instability displayed by Donald Trump for the past six and a half years since he announced his campaign for President, this is an indication of the psychological trick of “projection”, claiming that one’s own shortcomings are actually those of a rival.

Joe Biden has been outstanding in his public speeches and his recent press conference, and shows command of the material he has to master.

Biden has handled the Ukraine Crisis well, up to this point, and has accomplished major domestic reforms, despite having a 50-50 Senate.

Leaving Afghanistan was never going to be an easy proposition, but one must recall that Donald Trump made an agreement to withdraw in May 2021, not August 2021, and without any participation in the withdrawal process by the Afghan government, only with the Taliban. So who gives Trump and his minions the ability to criticize what was perpetrated by Trump himself?

Considering the pressures Joe Biden has faced on so many issues at the same time, he has accomplished a great first year record, and there is still hope for some kind of further “Build Back Better” legislation.

And the influence on the judicial branch has been very significant in the first year, and now, Biden will have a very important Supreme Court nominee soon, that will honor the reputation of the Supreme Court, which has lost a lot of its stature, due to the horrendous appointments of Donald Trump, that have undermined the dignity of the Supreme Court.

So while Joe Biden is not perfect, but who is, his cognitive abilities, and his public and private actions show every indication of a continuation of a great four year term in the White House!

Donald Trump Being Fully Revealed By John Bolton And Mary Trump Tell-Alls

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This next week will be the further collapse of the Trump Presidency, as two books are coming out in the next few days.

And already, leaks from both books are devastating.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton is revealing just how incompetent, corrupt, and ignorant Donald Trump is about American foreign policy, and how he loves and admires totalitarian leadership, as in China, Russia, and North Korea. Also, it is revealed how Trump has no knowledge of basic history or modern current events.

Bolton also informs us how top people around Trump, even today, have such a low opinion of the man.

And the publication of the book of Mary Trump, the President’s niece and daughter of his older dead brother, Fred Trump, demonstrates how nasty and uncaring Trump is with his own relatives, including his niece and nephew, the children of his brother.

It also reveals how Trump mistreated and ridiculed his own father, who set him up for success as a young man, with a one million “gift”. But once the elder Trump had Alzheimers, his son was totally lacking in empathy for him.

What else needs to be known about this disgusting man who is our President?

More than enough is known, with these revelations added, to say Donald Trump must be booted out of the Presidency pronto, and cannot be allowed to have a second term, as the nation, already horribly damaged, would not survive another term of Donald Trump!

Presidential Retirements

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Of our 44 Presidents of the United States, 16 of them have had retirements lasting 15 years or more.

This statistic comes to mind as we celebrate the 93rd Birthday of Jimmy Carter, and root for him and George H. W. Bush to beat the record of longevity of Gerald Ford (93 years, 165 days) and Ronald Reagan (93 years 120 days), which Bush will surpass on October 11 and November 25, and Carter will surpass on January 30, 2018 and March 16, 2018.

The President with the most retirement years is Carter, who will reach 37 years out of office on January 20, 2018.

Herbert Hoover had 31 and a half years in retirement, followed by Gerald Ford with just a month short of 30 years.

John Adams had four months more than 25 years, and will be passed by George H. W. Bush in May 2018.

Martin Van Buren had about the same retirement time as Adams with 25 plus years, and Bush will soon pass him as well on the list.

Millard Fillmore, Harry Truman, and Richard Nixon each had close to 20 years in retirement.

James Madison and John Quincy Adams each had about 19 years in retirement

Thomas Jefferson, William Howard Taft, and John Tyler each had about 17 years in retirement.

Bill Clinton will soon finish 17 years in retirement, and will, therefore, pass Jefferson, Taft, and Tyler in 2018.

And Ronald Reagan had a few months more than 15 years in retirement, although much of his retirement was spent in a state of dementia and Alzheimers Disease.

Donald Trump’s Twitter Rants Become More Bizarre, Sign Of Mental Issues Dangerous To Nation

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Donald Trump refuses to stop using Twitter, and his rants are becoming more bizarre by the day.

In the past, Trump has used Twitter to undermine relations with other nations and with leaders in Congress, as well as insult everyone imaginable.

He also used Twitter to depict himself as punching out CNN.

Now, he has used Twitter to portray himself as golfing and hitting Hillary Clinton in the head with a golf ball.

And he has referred to Kim Jong Un of North Korea as the “Rocket Man’, referring to his nuclear missile tests and using Elton John’s song as a backdrop. Trump seems to be in a total meltdown!

What sane individual, particularly the leader of the most powerful nation on earth with nuclear weapons, acts like this?

It has long been clear that Donald Trump has demonstrated more crazy behavior by the day, including the constant changes of his mind on everything imaginable.

It seems to many that he has early dementia or Alzheimers symptoms, or has bipolar disorder.

This would be disturbing for anyone, but we cannot have a President with such unstable behavior, as the nation’s safety and security is at stake.

One would think Vice President Mike Pence, along with the adult children of Donald Trump, would recognize this, and despite the loyalty that Pence might feel, and the love Trump’s children have for their father, perfectly natural, that they would realize their responsibility to America over anything else.

We are reaching a crisis which could result in a massive disaster caused by Trump’s erratic behavior, and we need courageous people, including Trump’s cabinet officers, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to step up!

The Experience Of Reagan And Trump A Lesson: Age Of Presidents Should Be Between 43 and 70, Election To Retirement!

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The growing signs that President Donald Trump might be in the early stages of dementia, and possibly Alzheimers Disease, based on his speech pattern and delusional behavior, brings to the forefront the issue of Presidential age and health.

We live in a time of more and more Americans working into their 70s and 80s,although most only work part time, in jobs that are not highly challenging or stressful.

There is no desire to discriminate against people based on age, but when it comes to the Presidency, the most challenging and stressful job in the world, it would seem wise to learn from the experiences of Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, as well as the illnesses experienced by Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Presidency.

Reagan clearly suffered from early dementia and Alzheimers, particularly in the second term, when his wife and his staff often were there to help him in what he said publicly. His public speeches suffered, as already Donald Trump’s public utterances are demonstrating.

Eisenhower had three serious illnesses in 1955, 1956, and 1957, with a massive heart attack in 1955. When Ike retired at age 70 and three months in January 1961,the oldest when leaving office until Reagan and now Trump, he said no one older than himself should be President, and that now makes a lot of sense.

And then we have Zachary Taylor who died in office, elected at age 64 and dying 16 months later; and William Henry Harrison, elected at age 68, and dying after one month in office.

Also, James Buchanan, elected at age 65 but nearly 66, and being unable to handle the job of President effectively, and he goes down in history as the worst President ever, in most scholarly polls of Presidential experts.

Only George Herbert Walker Bush, elected at 64, and defeated at age 68, might have been acceptable had he won a second term over Bill Clinton in 1992. And even he would have been past Ike’s age only for the last two years of a theoretical second term.

John F. Kennedy was the youngest elected President at age 43 and seven months, with only Theodore Roosevelt being younger, succeeding William McKinley after his assassination, and being 42 years and almost 11 months.

The average age of Presidents is 55, and it would seem to make sense that we elect Presidents only from age 43 to age 62, when they first take the oath of office, so that the range of age when leaving office is 51 to 70.

Altogether, we have had 9 Presidents in their 40s when inaugurated, and 11 Presidents in their 60s or more when elected President.

So basically, the age of JFK when elected, to the age of Ike, when he retired, makes the most sense for the long term future.

The Coming Foreign Trip Disaster Of Donald Trump

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Donald Trump is about to engage in a nine day foreign trip, which is bound to be a total disaster.

He will visit Saudi Arabia, the home of the Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina, and it will be delicate to do so, after his anti Muslim rhetoric and his attempted Muslim bans.

He will visit Israel, after having revealed Israeli intelligence information to the Russian Foreign Minister and Russian Ambassador to the United States in the Oval Office, and backing away from the idea of recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, and hinting that Israel must agree to concessions to the Palestinians, as he pursues “the art of the deal”. Also, he has refused to visit Masada, since he cannot have his helicopter go to the top of Masada, and is unwilling to take a cable car to the Mount. He also plans only 15 minutes at the Holocaust Memorial, Yad Vashem, which will alienate many Israelis and American Jews.

He will visit Vatican City and Pope Francis, and has been highly critical of the Pope, who has been dismissive of Trump’s rhetoric and his planned Mexico Wall.

He will be at the NATO summit in Belgium, having alarmed members at his on and off attitudes towards the significance of the alliance, and his pro Russian tendencies that are now being investigated, and could lead to his Presidency in flames.

He will also be be at the G-7 summit with our major economic partners–Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan, to be held in Sicily, Italy.

There will be plenty of opportunity for flubs, blunders, embarrassments, and Trump is not good at sitting through long sessions, gets bored easily, and is not willing to do the preparation, and reading, required to be knowledgeable and competent at international meetings with experienced and competent diplomats and foreign leaders.

Despite what Trump claims, he is NOT a good student, and clearly has a variation of Attention Deficit Disorder, along with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and a likely possibility of Dementia or Alzheimers.

Trump is not up to this trip, which is too long and detailed, and cannot sleep in his own bed, and he is very intense about actually being seriously tested and challenged, as his Presidency deteriorates around him.

Barack Obama made his first foreign trip to Canada, and George W. Bush to Mexico, and after what is likely to be a disastrous trip, who knows if Trump will not just hole himself up in the White House, and scream and yell at his family and his aides, as he faces the end of his Presidency, as a total disgrace to the institution of the Presidency!

Hillary Clinton Health Reminds Us Of Importance Of Vice Presidential Choice

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The fact that Hillary Clinton has Pneumonia has drawn attention once again to the issue of Vice Presidential choices.

Ignorant people have argued that the Vice Presidency does not matter, and has no effect on electing the President of the United States.

But that is not true, as any intelligent voter should be concerned about the quality and competence of a person who is only a heartbeat away from the Presidency on a daily basis.

it has been a long time since we faced a Presidential death, 53 years since John F. Kennedy, and even the resignation of Richard Nixon is now 42 years ago.

So the odds are getting better that we could have a Vice President once again ascending to the Presidency during a term, and with the combination of the two oldest Presidential nominees to run since Ronald Reagan, who had early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease, it is urgent that we think about the Vice Presidential running mates much more than we usually have done.

Right now, any sane person would agree that Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia is far superior to Indiana Governor Mike Pence, if either had to assume the Presidency, based on experience, viewpoints on issues, and basic character.

Pence is a right wing extremist on so many issues, while Kaine is a mainstream Democrat, and well liked by his colleagues in the Senate, and capable of “crossing the aisle” in a way as Joe Biden, the present Vice President, has done so often.

Pence is an ideologue, and not good at “crossing the aisle”, and very mean spirited and judgmental on so many issues, a perfect fit for Donald Trump, but not good for the nation at large.

Age Issue Shows Itself Again With Karl Rove Statement On Hillary Clinton

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The age issue is rearing its ugly head again with Karl Rove’s comment on Hillary Clinton and her health issue in the last months of her time as Secretary of State, when she fell, hit her head, and was hospitalized for a few days, and took a month to recuperate.

One must remember that Hillary Clinton set records for travel mileage as Secretary of State, enough to cause anyone health issues temporarily, but there is no hint that she is not up to the challenge of running for President.

Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden too, are both extremely qualified for the Presidency, and Karl Rove is going in dangerous territory in using the age issue, particularly when it is clear that Ronald Reagan was never the same after his gunshot wound ten weeks into his Presidency, and seemed lacking in alertness when debating Walter Mondale in the first Presidential debate in 1984; fell asleep with the Pope, and at cabinet meetings; is rumored to have been in early stages of dementia and Alzheimers in his second term; and had trouble answering questions on a constant basis at press conferences. It was often said that Nancy Reagan was his eyes and ears in more ways than one.

Since both Hillary and Joe are, clearly, intellectually, superior to Reagan, Rove’s comment only draws more attention to the shortcomings of Reagan, but also to other recent GOP nominees Bob Dole and John McCain, both of whom were in their 70s. Or is this sexism, because Hillary is a woman?

Having said all of the above, it is still reality that a younger Republican Presidential nominee in 2016 will likely be seen as having some edge over a much older Democratic nominee, as only Reagan has had the edge as the older nominee over much younger opponents. So it brings up the question as to whether it would be better for a younger, newer generation Democratic nominee, as with JFK in 1960, Carter in 1976, Clinton in 1992, and Obama in 2008. It is well worth careful consideration!

The Case For A New Generation Of Democrats For The Presidential Election Of 2016!

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As the Presidential race begins, and it has started already, like it or not, it is clear that Hillary Clinton, who will be 69 in 2016, and Joe Biden, who will be 74 in 2016, are the frontrunners, and that Hillary is using up most of the oxygen in the room, way ahead of Biden in polls, with other potential Democratic candidates in single digits.

But despite the confidence and optimism about Hillary and even Joe as a backup, there is a growing case for the argument that the Democratic Party should bypass both Hillary and Joe, no matter how much one may love or admire either of them, and go for a new generation of Democrats, as was done in 1960 with John F. Kennedy, in 1976 with Jimmy Carter, in 1992 with Bill Clinton, and 2008 with Barack Obama!

All of these successful Democratic Presidential winners were young–43, 52, 46, and 47 respectively at the time of the inauguration. All were younger than their GOP opponents, although Richard Nixon was only four years older, but represented a continuation of Dwight D. Eisenhower, our oldest President at the time when he retired in 1961!

But Jimmy Carter was eleven years younger than Gerald Ford; Bill Clinton 22 years younger than George H. W. Bush; and Barack Obama 25 years younger than John McCain!

The fact is ONLY three Presidents were inaugurated at age 65 or older—William Henry Harrison at age 68 and dying a month later; James Buchanan at age 65 but only 50 days short of age 66, and rated by many historians the worst President in American history; and Ronald Reagan, inaugurated at just weeks before his 70th and 74th birthday, and judged by many to have deteriorated mentally, with early Alzheimers in his second term of office!

And we have seen Bob Dole defeated at age 73 in 1996; John McCain defeated at age 72 in 2008; and Mitt Romney, defeated at age 65 inn 2012, but also about 50 days short of age 66 if he had been inaugurated, the same exact age as Buchanan was when he won in 1856!

Meanwhile, the Republican Party future is clearly in the hands of young politicians, including Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, and others, with these candidates being mostly in their 40s and 50s, and all younger than Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden!

Historically, in most elections, the younger candidate wins, and the party of the President usually does not do well if it utilizes someone connected with the administration leaving office, no matter what level of popularity reigns when that President leaves office, as witness:

Richard Nixon lost after Eisenhower
Hubert Humphrey lost after Lyndon B. Johnson
Gerald Ford lost after Richard Nixon
Walter Mondale lost after Jimmy Carter
Al Gore lost after Bill Clinton

If Hilary Clinton runs, she represents Obama’s foreign policy record, for good or for bad, and also brings back the good and the bad of the Presidency of her husband, Bill Clinton.

If Joe Biden runs, he represents what happens to a Vice President under a President, that the negatives of that President harm the Vice President, as with Nixon, Humphrey, Ford, Mondale, and Gore.

Only George H. W, Bush was able to overcome this hex, and succeed Ronald Reagan in 1988, although then losing reelection in 1992, the greatest percentage loss of any President in American history, except William Howard Taft in 1912!

It is reality that Democrats will be heavily favored in the Electoral College in 2016, no matter who runs, but it would be easier for a “New”, younger Democrat to be the Presidential nominee, such as Martin O’Malley, Andrew Cuomo, KIrsten Gilllibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Deval Patrick, Mark Warner, John Hickenlooper, or Elizabeth Warren, all of whom are much younger than Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, with the exception of Warren, who would be 67 in 2016, which makes her a less ideal candidate based upon age!

It is important for Democrats to think carefully before they decide for a continuation of the Obama Presidency through Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden, as nominating someone younger and separated from the Obama Administration would be preferable, and easier for the grueling campaign ahead!