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Post by lakhota on Jan 23, 2011 14:54:57 GMT -5
How close did Lesley Stahl come to reporting Reagan had Alzheimer's while in office? Very close.CBS reporter Lesley Stahl may be able to settle the family feud that has erupted between President Ronald Reagan's two sons over an important historical issue: Did the 40th president have Alzheimer's disease when he was in the White House? In a new memoir, his son Ron suggests that Reagan suffered from the beginning stages of this disease while he was commander in chief, pointing out that his father became "lost and bewildered" during the 1984 presidential debates with Democratic nominee Walter Mondale and that in 1986 Reagan could not remember the names of familiar landmarks. But Ron defends his father, who was not diagnosed with Alzheimer's until 2004, and his aides: "I've seen no evidence that my father (or anyone else) was aware of his medical condition while he was in office. Had the diagnosis been made in, say 1987, would he have stepped down? I believe he would have." Stahl tells me that she is certain that after that Oval Office encounter with Reagan, she discussed with her producers whether to report on Reagan's mental condition. "I would have to have skirted around the words 'senility,' 'Alzheimer's,' 'dementia,'" she notes. "I would have been declaring the president unfit to serve, or at least raising the possibility." That undoubtedly would have set off a political detonation. And such a report would have suggested a White House cover-up—at a time when tense foreign policy matters were in the news and midterm elections were a few months off. Whether or not Stahl made the right call—she seems to believe she should have reported something at the time—the evidence she later gathered indicates that Reagan aides were concerned about his mental condition during his presidency. Perhaps it wasn't Alzheimer's but another health issue. Yet her account and her subsequent reporting suggests Ron Reagan is closer to the truth than Michael Reagan. The Gipper was slipping while he was occupying the most powerful position in the world, and the public was kept in the dark. More Scary Details: motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/reagan-alzheimers-family-feud-lesley-stahlNOTE: Keep in mind as you read the article that Lesley Stahl's encounter with Reagan took place in 1984 - midway through his presidency. Reagan was president for four more years.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Jan 23, 2011 15:00:12 GMT -5
I believe the situation was handled appropriately. Professionals around the President dealt with a potentially serious situation with subtlety. Good for them.
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safeharbor37
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Post by safeharbor37 on Jan 23, 2011 15:12:26 GMT -5
Memory loss is normal in the elderly, but that does not necessarily mean incompetence. Alzheimer's is difficult to impossible to diagnose until it's severe or upon autopsy. Ron's comments seem to me to be self serving and disrespectful for a son. It's like a Ted Kennedy son calling his father a drunk.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Jan 23, 2011 15:19:40 GMT -5
I remember watching Ronald Reagan on TV during those years and wondering, at the time, if he had all his marbles. When his diagnosis was (finally) announced, I had a "that explains a lot" moment.
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Post by marjar on Jan 23, 2011 15:28:36 GMT -5
My mother had Alzheimer's and her symptoms began in the late 70's. I believed Reagan displayed symptoms of the disease, while in office, because of the similarities to my mother's behavior. Often, they were subtle nuances, but identical to what I was seeing with my mom.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Jan 23, 2011 15:32:09 GMT -5
marjar, I'm sorry about your mother. My mother is now in the advanced stages, but I remember her symptoms prior to her diagnosis. Very similar.,
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deziloooooo
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Post by deziloooooo on Jan 23, 2011 15:32:49 GMT -5
Funny that you mentioned it, I thought it kicked in the day after he was first sworn in, but with Congress firmly being in the Pubs hands , they refused to let it out and winged it for the next eight years.
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Post by marjar on Jan 23, 2011 15:36:25 GMT -5
marjar, I'm sorry about your mother. My mother is now in the advanced stages, but I remember her symptoms prior to her diagnosis. Very similar., I'm so sorry you are dealing with this. It is an ugly disease and impacts every one around the victim.
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deziloooooo
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Post by deziloooooo on Jan 23, 2011 15:53:01 GMT -5
I believe the situation was handled appropriately. Professionals around the President dealt with a potentially serious situation with subtlety. Good for them. Forgetting my attempt at humor a post ago, I wonder in TODAYS political climate, if there would be any hold back, especially from opposing political parties. I am not putting it on one party or the other, both lets say, if there was even a suggestion of a problem. Either publicly or a unnamed source type spilling of a suggestion. It isn't just us but the Soviets did it with Brezhnev and I believe a few others. With the stakes of a Presidency , how do you protect the country from having some one in that job who isn't 110% all there. Allow subordinates to make decisions that only a President has the right to make , even with "good intension's"? Remember the hullabaloo with Al Hague , when Reagan was shot? Wait around till it's to late , or wait till they have a good moment? Possible back in the day, 17th/18th century you could muddle through but today? Besides the military responsibilities, just every day decisions, natural disasters, the hurricanes in Florida a few years ago, one after another, earth quake California , New Orleans , just negotiating with the President of China, North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan. At the end , Roosevelt should not have been in that position , Yalta for example, but who was going to step in and say "NO ". The aids around such a position, where do their loyalties lie, the man , the country, the party??
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Post by marjar on Jan 23, 2011 16:15:14 GMT -5
Dez- I have to agree. This is not a bash on Reagan, but those around him should have encouraged or forced him to step down.
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Post by ed1066 on Jan 23, 2011 16:18:47 GMT -5
Even if Reagan did have Alzheimer's while in office, he was still a better president than the last three combined...
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Post by traelin0 on Jan 23, 2011 16:19:52 GMT -5
I'd say the last four combined, LOL.
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Post by marjar on Jan 23, 2011 16:20:58 GMT -5
Even if Reagan did have Alzheimer's while in office, he was still a better president than the last three combined... Serious question- Why? Interested in why people think/feel the way they do.
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handyman2
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Post by handyman2 on Jan 23, 2011 16:34:01 GMT -5
I agree with Ed and tre. He had a good cast of advisors and his term was better than anything we have had since.
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deziloooooo
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Post by deziloooooo on Jan 23, 2011 16:40:24 GMT -5
I agree with Ed and tre. He had a good cast of advisors and his term was better than anything we have had since. Advisors are not elected President of the United States, as far as the quality of his term, it's your opinion , others feel differently and neither you or they are probably qualified to judge. In the future, historians after all the ramifications are in, then is the time to judge but till then..just a opinion and still does not address the problem of what to do if some one isn't all there, just a have assed attempt at humor and not that good a one. I think mine was much better, shall we have a poll to decide?
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handyman2
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Post by handyman2 on Jan 23, 2011 16:45:42 GMT -5
Any presidents time in office depends in large part on the quality of the advisors they chose according to their specialty. No president can have all the answers to every situation. Their greatest asset is to pick people around them who can present them with a true picture of what needs to be done. I see this as one of Obama's weaknesses. He seems to pick friends instead of skilled people.
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Jan 23, 2011 16:54:06 GMT -5
I remember my husband and I discussing this issue while Reagan was still in office. Too many familiar symptoms to ignore, so I felt pretty sure there was something amiss. He appeared to be in the early stages of dementia, whether vascular or Alzheimer's. Turns out, it was the latter. Fortunately, nothing devastating resulted from his continuance in office so, to me, that's a moot point this far down the road.
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Post by magichat on Jan 23, 2011 17:03:41 GMT -5
Even if Reagan did have Alzheimer's while in office, he was still a better president than the last three combined... He hated America, and was a terrorist supporter, glad to see you love Al Quada as much as Regean.
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warsaw (banned)
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Post by warsaw (banned) on Jan 23, 2011 17:06:48 GMT -5
As Ron Jr. said, he showed some absentmindedness, nothing lethal- On the other hand, he'd been off for years, and was a disaster for the country... NONE OF THIS WAS TRUE (OR "EUROPEAN"!!) UNTIL THE DEMENTED RAYGUN (IT"S CONTAGIOUS!!!) Read it and weep, unless you're an HATER!!:only modern country in the modern world where full time workers live in poverty and have no health care (500k bankruptcies a year, most HAVE insurance - crap insurance!), worst min. wage, work conditions, illegal work safeguards, vacations, work week, college costs, rich/poor gap, upward social mobility, % homeless and in prison. Happiness? We're # 23!! And if you complain dupes say you're a commie. PFFFFFT!Racism and hate? We're #1!! Thank you Neocons!
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Post by ed1066 on Jan 23, 2011 18:05:09 GMT -5
This thread has been deleted due to content.
Tennesseer/Moderator
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Post by lakhota on Jan 23, 2011 18:32:44 GMT -5
Me too!
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Post by magichat on Jan 23, 2011 18:55:27 GMT -5
You've become a caricature of the hateful, bigoted, bitter liberal, right down to the spittle-flecked misspellings...and I think it's hilarious! Instead of responding to your personal attacks Ed, I will point out that I believe the same of every President back to Wilson at a minimum, but probably going back to Lincoln.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jan 23, 2011 19:10:28 GMT -5
Memory loss is normal in the elderly, but that does not necessarily mean incompetence. Alzheimer's is difficult to impossible to diagnose until it's severe or upon autopsy. Ron's comments seem to me to be self serving and disrespectful for a son. It's like a Ted Kennedy son calling his father a drunk. My mother in the late stage of Alzheimer's disease at the time of her death. The signs were there years before. She was forgetful long before normal memory loss in the elderly. My parents just hid her disease well-even from their children. While I am not famous like Ron Reagan Jr. or Ted Kennedy Jr., my father was a drunk. Family and friends knew he was a drunk. And we told him he was a drunk with a problem. Fortunately with telling him he stopped drinking the last 12 years of his life and died sober. He was also a good and kind father and friend who just happened to have a drinking problem.
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formerexpat
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Post by formerexpat on Jan 23, 2011 19:29:56 GMT -5
I didn't know mental instability meant a politician wasn't fit to serve. Can we get Obama, Frank and Pelosi the f*** out now then?
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Jan 23, 2011 19:33:29 GMT -5
My mother has recently been diagnosed with dementia/Alzheimer's. She is 69. Looking back, there were some signs as early as the late 1990's, but at the time, it was the farthest thing from mine and my family's minds because she was only in her late 50's, and we just chalked it up to absentmindedness or stress.
It is entirely possible Reagan showed signs while he was in office.
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formerexpat
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Post by formerexpat on Jan 23, 2011 19:35:11 GMT -5
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deziloooooo
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Post by deziloooooo on Jan 23, 2011 22:00:47 GMT -5
[/size] I think you're misremembering history again. The 97th Congress had a 244 to 191 Dem majority. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/97th_United_States_CongressThe 98th through 100th Congress had a higher concentration of Dems than that.[/quote] So Picky and just a chance to have sime fun
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Mad Dawg Wiccan
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Post by Mad Dawg Wiccan on Jan 23, 2011 22:04:08 GMT -5
Even with an organic brain disease, Ronnie was twice the President Obama could ever hope to aspire to be.
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deziloooooo
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Post by deziloooooo on Jan 23, 2011 23:52:47 GMT -5
Even with an organic brain disease, Ronnie was twice the President Obama could ever hope to aspire to be. Eight years vs two...no where the problems...biggest recession since the depression, inherited, and a whole different base of industry..industries never coming back , still here under Reagon, and millions to old to be re trained in what ever is needed for the new yet to young to retire, deficit like nothing Reagon ever had , some Obamas , most from past presidents, hugh amount aquired by reagon, hugh Arms build up against the Soviets, Fleet I think was up to 600 plus, including battle ships again. I think your comments , just mostly the old sound bytes. Here , no sound bytes.."the good , the bad, the ..." Do notice big increase in debt by the way..not me saying it but if You read it, no more sound bytes. "The good , the bad the ..." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Ronald_Reagan
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workpublic
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Post by workpublic on Jan 24, 2011 8:46:38 GMT -5
so it comes down to the potus' advisers. hmmm... we're in trouble, imho.
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