quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:

As I said, it's really hard, and I feel for him. Imagine taking the car keys away from your parent.

Been there, done that. Add moving them to a memory care facility when care at home became impossible.

From another thread:

quote:

I don't think Biden is aware that he may not be up to the job. I think he probably willfully convinces himself that it's not as bad as it seems.

This. And the people around him aren't willing/able to accept what is happening either. It's hard to wrap one's brain around the fact that the family patriarch is slipping. It's a whole 'nother leap to imagine it's happening to the leader of the free world.

Biden's event planning team
Meticulous preparations to show him where he will
walking to a podium.

No. Quirt, you can have your opinion about how I vote. I'm saying it is my choice and therefore not your business. Moreover, I don't care what you think about my opinions, as I said.

And, I haven't read the recent posts yet, but the idea that if we all rallied around Biden, he'd win, is something I don't think is the case.

I didn't watch it yet but apparently the sit down with ABC was problematic, too.

Parkinson’s? Nah.

My dad was in a memory care facility for a few years. Biden looks like he has early dementia. He doesn’t have tremors.

The flat affect, the nonsensical statements, the shuffling short stride, the wandering, the stiffness. It’s all stuff I saw among the residents. I mean, did you see the video of him at the Juneteenth celebration? That’s either dementia or a stroke.

I still think he will withdraw, and we have time.

The sooner the better. Harris needs to build a team and develop momentum.

quote:

I still think he will withdraw, and we have time

I really really hope you’re right!!

I guess his dementia came as a surprise to many yet I said so only weeks ago and got some flack for it.

I guess it's easier for me to have seen and accepted it than for many because I never had an attachment to the man nor to the idea of him being President.

There were/ are so many things about his career that are disgusting and about his personal life that are creepy.

He needs to go and take his family with him. This is a farce.

A lot of Parkinson's patients do not have tremors. Bob, my partner, does not have tremors. He was diagnosed in 2019. His neighbor had tremors before he was diagnosed. Often, tremors do not appear until after 15 years of taking the medication. The medication is blamed for the tremors.
Bob noticed that Biden's face "froze" during the debate. Muscles that stop functioning is common. Narrow passageways can make muscles freeze. I suspect he was shown the passage to a podium before hand to prepare him for walking through that. Bob has frozen trying to walk through the narrow space behind his sofa. I had to put my hands on him and lead his through that. He has walked through that many times before and since. The problems are worse when it is near pill time.
There are diseases that are similar to Parkinson's. Distinguishing between them requires an expert.

There was no question that he had declined. It's age. We all decline. I notice that I am not capable of driving a car as I did in my 20's. My reaction speeds are just not the same, and I have to adjust for that.

The question is whether his decline had interfered with his ability to function. Until the debate, I don't think the answer to that was as obvious as some who believe otherwise would wish it to be. His team was very good at covering for him (much as Reagan's team did in his later years ... much as Trump's team does for him now).

Any suggestion that his decline was so significant that it interfered with his functioning, and that the magnitude of that was blatantly obvious to anyone who wasn't wishing it away, is just not true.

But, now it's obvious, and it has to be dealt with.

quote:

The question is whether his decline had interfered with his ability to function. Until the debate, I don't think the answer to that was as obvious as some who believe otherwise would wish it to be.

Agreed!

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But, now it's obvious, and it has to be dealt with.

Yep.

Funny you should mention driving. I noticed that after I retired my driving got much more leisurely . I was always a borderline type A driver buy now I am never in a hurry and I leave a whole lot more space between me and other cars than I used to.

Maybe you shouldn't be able to get a license until 60. But if I ride with Joe, I'm driving.

Well, I just saw in the NYT a copy of the letter Biden has just sent to Congress, telling them in no uncertain terms that he is not stepping aside, outlining his agenda for his second term, and exhorting them to come together and unite to defeat Trump.

It's an excellent letter (of course we don't know who actually wrote it, but it "sounds" like Biden's voice).

Seeing as he, rightly or wrongly, has made a firm decision to stay in the race, I think all we can and should do is throw our support behind him. Contesting his candidacy would be suicide.

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Contesting his candidacy would be suicide.

I am not sure that calling for him to step down of his own accord is the same as contesting his candidacy.

But the real problem is that many of us view him staying on the ticket as suicide...

For the record, if we get to the convention and he still hasn't stepped down, I will vote for him, and do my best to support his campaign.