All I know on the "Joe is demented" issue is this:
1) I have a parent who has severe dementia, and while experiences can vary, I'm not seeing the key signs of it in Biden. But I am seeing them in DJT. Let's have that discussion too.
2) I have a job where I do a lot of talking, to an audience. I frequently trip over my own words, flub thing…
All I know on the "Joe is demented" issue is this:
1) I have a parent who has severe dementia, and while experiences can vary, I'm not seeing the key signs of it in Biden. But I am seeing them in DJT. Let's have that discussion too.
2) I have a job where I do a lot of talking, to an audience. I frequently trip over my own words, flub things in misspeaking, have awkward speech moments, lose my train of thought when trying to juggle and balance multiple approaches, and otherwise do not get a perfect score on my delivery. I wouldn't want to read a literal transcript of all my utterances. Yet no one is calling for me to step down from my job because of it. It is hard to speak spontaneously and get everything right. What is different with Joe is that now everyone is looking for every last mistaken utterance and waiting to pounce on it. Some things may be legitimate issues on his part, but others strike me as piling on because it is easy (for some) and convenient (for others). Some additional perspective is in order.
Rather than symptoms of dementia, I am seeing symptoms of Parkinson's in Joe: An abnormally weak voice due to lack of coordination of the speech muscles, forward flexed posture, a shuffling gait, his mouth agape, and irregular speech pattern (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/08/us/politics/parkinsons-expert-white-house.html). My 85-year-old brother has been showing these very symptoms for over a year. As far as I can tell, it hasn't affected his cognition, just his movement. It has slowed him down considerably.
These symptoms are what's contributing to the voters' perception that Biden is old.
Thank you for the detailed overview, Sandy. Beyond normal human sympathy if that is the case, it does give pause to wonder if the job responsibilities of such a strenuous position could contribute to a rapid decline or a substantial impairment while in office, if not now maybe in two or three years. The DNC needs to be fully transparent if there are legitimate health concerns. Anything short of that ventures dangerously close to political malpractice and scandal.
All I know on the "Joe is demented" issue is this:
1) I have a parent who has severe dementia, and while experiences can vary, I'm not seeing the key signs of it in Biden. But I am seeing them in DJT. Let's have that discussion too.
2) I have a job where I do a lot of talking, to an audience. I frequently trip over my own words, flub things in misspeaking, have awkward speech moments, lose my train of thought when trying to juggle and balance multiple approaches, and otherwise do not get a perfect score on my delivery. I wouldn't want to read a literal transcript of all my utterances. Yet no one is calling for me to step down from my job because of it. It is hard to speak spontaneously and get everything right. What is different with Joe is that now everyone is looking for every last mistaken utterance and waiting to pounce on it. Some things may be legitimate issues on his part, but others strike me as piling on because it is easy (for some) and convenient (for others). Some additional perspective is in order.
Rather than symptoms of dementia, I am seeing symptoms of Parkinson's in Joe: An abnormally weak voice due to lack of coordination of the speech muscles, forward flexed posture, a shuffling gait, his mouth agape, and irregular speech pattern (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/08/us/politics/parkinsons-expert-white-house.html). My 85-year-old brother has been showing these very symptoms for over a year. As far as I can tell, it hasn't affected his cognition, just his movement. It has slowed him down considerably.
These symptoms are what's contributing to the voters' perception that Biden is old.
Thank you for the detailed overview, Sandy. Beyond normal human sympathy if that is the case, it does give pause to wonder if the job responsibilities of such a strenuous position could contribute to a rapid decline or a substantial impairment while in office, if not now maybe in two or three years. The DNC needs to be fully transparent if there are legitimate health concerns. Anything short of that ventures dangerously close to political malpractice and scandal.