This was a fascinating interview with a quadruple board certified neurologist. The neurologist identifies as a Democrat and was interviewed on NBC. He was very clear that Biden has all the telltale signs of Parkinson's disease in terms of his movement and various speaking difficulties. The interviewer asked whether it was possible it was due to him overcoming stuttering and the neurologist very quickly said no. He noted he sees this type of patient in his office frequently and it's easy to spot. It is rather sad for Joe Biden who has been through a lot of personal tragedy in terms of loss of family and of course Hunter Biden's problems.
Whether it is Parkinson's or some form of dementia, the decline and issues are fairly obvious. While it is concerning and needs to be dealt with, it isn't really something to be made fun of. It is distressing for families and the patient and there are millions of Americans suffering from similar disorders. So the derision and jokes are likely hurtful. I seem to recall that Admiral Stockdale's family said it was hurtful for them when their Dad was subject to jokes from late night comedians and comedy shows. Stockdale was a war hero (Medal of Honor). He later did suffer from Alzheimers.
In case anyone has forgotten, here is an article on Stockdale. https://www.cnn.com/2005/US/07/05/stockdale.obit/
Although as I recall, his trouble in that vice presidential debate stemmed not from any cognitive decline, but simply from being hard of hearing and having recently gotten a poorly configured hearing aid. I agree that he didn't deserve to be pilloried.
I doubt that explanation. He lost his train of thought and rambled. He rambled on the White House lawn Thursday and then in a radio interview claimed to be a Black woman. After the doctor's interview above, it seems less likely that it is dementia and more likely that he knows what he wants to say but his thoughts and expressions get jumbled due to Parkinson's or some similar disorder. It is sad (poor guy).
I think you're right. And I think he had intended to say "who am I" "why am I here" as opening questions. Unfortunately, it was fodder for late night TV shows. One of them did a skit where H Ross Perot was driving and stopped the car, let Stockdale out, and drove off with Stockdale running behind the car. There is a campaign that imploded. Perot was doing very well as a third party candidate and then suddenly started saying nutty things (conspiratorial) and it was all over. No one could have had any idea where America was headed in the last couple of presidential elections. We have stepped into the Twilight zone (Trump, Biden, MTG). Harris is a mediocre goofball but that isn't much different than the impression of Dan Quayle). Quayle was apparently set up on the potato issue (it was written wrong on the flash card but it stuck). If MTG had played her cards right she might have ended up VP but her taking a trip to Crazy Town ended that. Now when we think of her we think of Jewish space lasers, and her pandering to Evangelical Christians at the same time she told a reporter to f off. Then we have Democratic Senator Menendez doing a little business on the side. A few years ago we had the Democrat who had a freezer full of money. Or the Republican guy who went to jail with the very very bad toupee.
Speaking of conspiracy theories, I have long believed that this was not because Perot was actually a nut, but because his goal was not to become president, but rather to derail Bush 41's reelection.
He was doing amazingly well for awhile. Him and his charts and explanations in that Texas twang. Opened a can of whoop a** on the two parties for a time. He was all over SNL and late night TV.
To be honest, if there are only two choices (I wouldn't wish either on my worst enemy), I prefer he has Parkinson's rather than dementia. Parkinson's patients can remain mentally sharp, their bodies just fail them (Michael J. Fox as an example). Having someone with dementia with the nuclear codes is frightening.
I just read that former Cleveland Brown's QB Bernie Kosar was diagnosed with Parkinson's and liver disease, terrible news. https://www.foxnews.com/sports/browns-great-bernie-kosar-reveals-reveals-parkinsons-liver-disease-diagnoses-felt-death
