Lesley Stahl: "Oh, my, he's gonzo"-CBS almost reported Reagan was mentally unfit in 1986

[kpete]

Reagan's Alzheimer's, a Family Feud, and Lesley Stahl

— Zuma/Arthur Grace

Ron and Michael Reagan disagree over when their dad's mental deterioration began. A veteran reporter's firsthand account may settle the matter.

.............

CBS' Leslie Stahl recalled in her 2000 book, "Reporting Live," that she was instructed not to ask then-President Reagan any questions during a 1986 meeting.

"Reagan didn't seem to know who I was. He gave me a distant look with those milky eyes and shook my hand weakly," she wrote. "Oh, my, he's gonzo, I thought. I have to go out on the lawn tonight and tell my countrymen that the president of the United States is a doddering space cadet. My heart began to hammer with the import...I was aware of the delicacy with which I would have to write my script. But I was quite sure of my diagnosis."

...........................

Stahl "had come that close to reporting that Reagan was senile. I had every intention of telling the American people what I had observed in the Oval Office."

In a recent e-mail to Mother Jones' David Corn, Stahl explained why she never made that report.

"Because Reagan seemed to 'recover' -- I decided I could not go out on the White House lawn and tell the public what his behavior meant," she wrote. "Was it what I had assumed at first: senility? Was it an 'act' -- a way to avoid answering my questions? Was it some form of dementia (maybe not Alzheimer's)? I decided I couldn't report on my observations at all that night."

Stahl continued: "Later, when I would ask White House officials if they had ever seen him float away like that, they'd say yes, but that, as with me, he always pulled himself together. It was confusing for everyone."

"I now believe (Reagan aides and his wife Nancy) covered up his condition, and many continued to as they wrote their memoirs. But then, the public knew something wasn't right. There were all sorts of signs. We all looked the other way," she concluded in her book.

............................

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/reagan-alzheimers-family-feud-lesley-stahl
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/cbs-reported-reagan-mentally-unfit-1986/

[Name removed]

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[shanti]

22. understand what you're saying

but there WERE plenty of remarks about *'s and rove's (not to mention the dick) looks...

[druidity33]

53. WHAT???!!???

You've never heard people here at DU mention Rove's weight and lack of hair?

You HAVE NOT been paying attention.

:shrug:

[Name removed]

69. Deleted message

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[Heywood J]

54. "I never read about the fatness of Rove or his lack of hair. "

Seriously? You never saw any of that? I don't think you were looking very hard.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=site%3Ademocraticunderground.com+rove+*+fat

About 14,500 results (0.16 seconds)

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=site%3Ademocraticunderground.com+rove+*+bald

About 41,800 results
* Admittedly not all about Karl's baldness in particular

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=site%3Ademocraticunderground.com+bush+*+"thin+lips"

About 1,960 results

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=site%3Ademocraticunderground.com+bush+*+"beady+eyes"

About 16,700 results

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=site%3Ademocraticunderground.com+bush+*+"evil+eyes"

About 8,690 results
* Admittedly not all about Bush in particular

You can click on any one of them to see particular posts and particular phrasing. Here are a few examples:

"Is Karl Rove a fat idiot"?
"The irony is thicker than Karl Rove's neck fat."
"Fat-ass Karl Rove takes time out from shooting doves to write an op-ed piece for the WSJ."
"Now, put Rove's fat, flabby ass on the waterboard."
"Twice the bald, sweaty, and pasty, twice the fun!"
"Well, even a bald pig can find an acorn every now and then"
"Bush better stop rubbing his bald head for luck."
"Our political landscape is haunted by the specter of Karl Rove, the bald, bejowled gargoyle who feeds himself on the viscera of Democratic ..."
"People can be born with thin lips and small eyes, but people like Bush and Trent Lott have a mean look because they squint their eyes"
"You know what they say about not trusting a man with thin lips"
"Eyes too close together, thin lips, big head. ..."
"Look at that droopy mouth and those beady eyes ..."
"Beady eyes..like a serpent,"
"Same wrinkly forehead, same beady eyes, same wacked-out brain. ..."
"Those beedy, lifeless, evil eyes and the blank cold stare. ..."
"One look from bush's beady evil eyes and a world leader goes bad!"

Since the forum appears to be mangling the links, you can drop these queries into Google:

site:democraticunderground.com rove * fat
site:democraticunderground.com rove * bald
site:democraticunderground.com bush * "thin lips"
site:democraticunderground.com bush * "beady eyes"
site:democraticunderground.com bush * "evil eyes"

[femrap]

66. I never googled in search of

such things.

But some of the comments warmed my heart.

I was speaking of DU, specifically. Lots of bald faced lies.

Cheney was bald, too.

I still believe the comment about Stahl was unnecessary. She's not the enemy, imho. At least nothing close to a rove or cheney. Of course most men of an age are bald. Even young ones are shaving the head to become bald....I guess that skinhead aryan look is 'hot' today. yippee.

[Heywood J]

88. "She's not the enemy, imho. At least nothing close to a rove or cheney."

I think we agree on that. Hindsight is 20/20.

[Can of Whoop-ass]

102. More like Commies

Reagan's actions as Gov of California were questionable for an American, Sending tanks in against unarmed college students at Berekley 1969?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5260741209625137775#
Who'd Reagan think he was, Chairman Mao?

[PatSeg]

109. He was an actor

I think he saw events as part of a movie script and he was the strong, sometimes unconventional hero. I don't think he was ever equipped to "lead", just "perform".

[Betsy Ross]

70. I recall many negative remarks about Rove

Pillsbury dough boy to name one. And * was frequently compared to a chimp for his smirking. That doesn't make such comments acceptable, but you can't say it is only against females.

[Name removed]

72. Deleted message

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[uppityperson]

77. There is lot of sexism in France you know. While there are some positives, there is a lot

of sexism there also. Women's roles in much of France is behind what we have here in the states. It's changing there, but it isn't all spifferoni.

" Who runs the show around here? Most of the 'loud' women were rounded up and dismissed during the primaries."

Are you complaining about how the mods do their moderating? I am one of the strong outspoken women here, haven't been dismissed or ts'd. Perhaps I don't insult people enough? Odd.

[liberation]

111. "Women's roles in much of France is behind what we have here in the states"

Given that you provided no references to validate such a subjective qualitative metric to fuel American exceptional ism. Here is a quantitative metric for you: half of the French cabinet are women, how many women make up Obama's administration?

[uppityperson]

113. Just passing on comments from family and friends who live in France

Some moved there from USA, some were born and still live there. Having the cabinet with so many women on it is one of the positives I mentioned. But it isn't all peachy-doodle for ordinary women, there is sexism and gender specific roles for many. Both in Paris and in rural areas.

I don't have any reference, just what family friends tell me. Since most of them are French, perhaps it would be a Frenchism, rather than "American exceptional ism"?

[femrap]

116. Bravo....

all of my messages were deleted. Can't have a 'loud' women on DU....most were banned during the previous primary.

Viva La France!

[Stinky The Clown]

71. During the reign of Idiot Son, I can say that at least I commented on those aspects of Rove . . . .

. . . . and L'il Boots.

I was frequently chastised for it.

[Name removed]

74. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

83. Deleted message

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[uppityperson]

76. You never read posts dissing Turd Blossom? Seriously?

[Qutzupalotl]

33. She doesn't have a medical background.

She would've had to preface any "diagnosis" with a statement to that effect. About all she could have said was he seemed distant or glassy-eyed. I get that way when I'm tired.

She did not have enough information to do what you wanted her to do.

[Raine]

62. Agree and would CBS have backed her up? Not likely using Dan

Rather as an example regarding Chimp and the National Guard. That's how the networks stands behind their people. :eyes:

[okieinpain]

105. i disagree I think you know when you working with someone that

is having a problem and someone that is tired.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

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[Bucky]

50. Reporters should have ethics & professional standards. One is report verifiable facts.

Everyone has off days. Had she gone out and reported "This one time I was hanging around the president, he was looking kinda loopy, so maybe he's senile," it would have been professional suicide and would've led to a massive debunking by the White House PR machine. It would've been a waste of time.

I don't think her organization should've just dropped the story (which apparently they did), but they shouldn't go about reporting hunches as facts, either. That way lies National Inquirer.

[Drunken Irishman]

87. Exactly...

SHE would have looked like the loony one had she gone and reported this.

[demigoddess]

73. she did not have to report it, we all saw it. We just expected

the other people in the government to do their jobs. But they didn't. And most of them, about 90%, were male. so get over it.

[Richard Steele]

75. Totally agree with your first paragraph. That last line, though, really flushed your post. nm

[Octafish]

2. So CBS kept shut up about it.

"I'm so glad. I'll pay you back. And pass the Dan Rather, will you, Pruneface?"

[okieinpain]

106. is that a real picture.

[Octafish]

112. Taken at an official 1980 GOP convention function in Detroit.

The caption has been changed to reflect what I believe Poppy was thinking.



Pruneface on one of his better days.

[leveymg]

3. Several recent GOP Presidents should have been removed for mental incapacity - the MSM remained mute

So we got to keep them for their full two terms. Thanks, Leslie. Thanks CBS. Mission Accomplished.

[1monster]

46. You can't blame Leslie Stahl for showing restraint in a situation like that. She had no

evidence other than one brief meeting with Reagan.

Stahl described the scene vividly in her book. She felt something was very wrong; Reagan was lifeless, his skin was pale, he seemed to be in another world. Then, with a mention of something that interested him (can't remember if it was some sport or movies), Reagan perked up, his color improved. He was enthusiatic and displaying the Reagan "warmth" and "charm" he was known for.

Stahl was confused. It would have been irresponsible for her to give that report on so little evidence.

Had she gone on and broadcast that Reagan was "gaga," she would have been castigated by all the news services, the White House, the House, the Senate, the GOP, and probalby the Dems too. And rightfully so. Stahl is not a doctor and had not been in any kind of regular person to person contact with Reagan to know what was normal or not normal behavior for him.

She would have been tossed out of the news business with her reputation ruined beyond repair.

And it would have been so easy for the White House to refute her observations of Reagan. All they had to do was feed Reagan some lines to learn and send him out in front of the press with a cute little story to tell, showing how "with it" he was and Stahl's career would have been finished, with those that were covering for him making sure to never let anyone who was not in on that cover up get that close to him again.

We all saw evidence that Reagan was missing things, forgetting where he was, sleeping during official state gatherings, greeting heads of state by the wrong names, calling countries he was visiting by the wrong names...

[Hell Hath No Fury]

4. FDR and his polio --

JFK and his mistresses, Ronnie and his dementia...

Historically it seesm there is plenty the press will NOT tell the American public about their president. In the first two examples, I don't frankly care about such things, but dammit, if the office holder is unable to fullfil their duties because of serious mental health issues or drug abuse (W?) then I feel they have an OBLIGATION to let us know what is truly going on. :mad:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

9. Polio and mistresses don't prevent a president from doing his job. -nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

12. Which is why I said they didn't matter to me.

Just illustrations of how much the press has been willing to hide.

[L. Coyote]

45. A mistress might actually be helpful

:rofl: unless you are a Dem and the sanctimonious trump up an impeachment

[sad sally]

48. Don't forget HW and his use of Halceon: don't cry for me Argentina,

threw up in the Japanese president's lap, almost few over the waves in his boat, bounced over the golf course in his golf cart with Barbara in hot pursuit. And we were supposed to believe this was all normal behavior of the president.

[RamboLiberal]

51. JFK had medical issues that were covered up

There could've been questions of his medical fitness & of the effects of drugs he took.

[Wednesdays]

82. Certainly, that'd disqualify someone today...um, IF the person's a DEMOCRAT

Others...(*cough* W and cocaine *cough*)...not so much.

[avaistheone1]

108. JFK was in pain from a war injury where he heroically saved the lives

of his men. Kennedy's courageous actions left him with a back injury with which he suffered the remainder of his life.

Kennedy's taking pain killers to deal with his back injury did not disable him from governing. The media knew about Kennedy's pain and it was published during his presidency. However, it was not a primary media focus. Perhaps that was so because Kennedy was an absolutely brilliant man and president who had his full faculties about him despite his pain and that Kennedy thrived on the challenges of leadership - as opposed to Reagan's Alzheimer's where Reagan did not know what the hell was going on. As a result Reagan let others govern by default.

[RamboLiberal]

114. JFK had a lot more than the back injury

Kennedy suffered from colitis, prostatitis, and a disorder called Addison's disease, which affects the body's ability to regulate blood sugar and sodium. He also had osteoporosis of the lower back, causing pain so severe that he was unable to perform simple tasks such as reaching across his desk to pull papers forward, or pulling the shoe and sock onto his left foot, Dallek said.

Taking Drugs During Crises

To fight the pain, Kennedy took as many as 12 medications at once, taking more during times of stress.

The medical records reveal that Kennedy variously took codeine, Demerol and methadone for pain; Ritalin, a stimulant; meprobamate and librium for anxiety; barbiturates for sleep; thyroid hormone; and injections of a blood derivative, gamma globulin, a medicine that combats infections.

During the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, Kennedy was taking steroids for his Addison's disease, painkillers for his back, anti-spasmodics for his colitis, antibiotics for urinary tract infections, antihistamines for his allergies, and on at least one occasion, an anti-psychotic drug to treat a severe mood change that Jackie Kennedy believed was brought on by the antihistamines.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=125593&page=1

[MedicalAdmin]

5. There is not a single live journalist in this country, IMHO.

Of course she didn't report it. She either knew that it would be killed by her corporate editors or she was incompetant and complicit in the resultant crimes.

She's a POS.

[harun]

103. Amy Goodman does a good job.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Goodman

Cenk also does good. Those are the only two I will spend any time watching.

Many of the rest want to do journalism but none of their newsrooms have editors that haven't been corrupted.

[young_at_heart]

6. Why is Michael making this into an issue?

Did he know his father all that well?

[Gold Metal Flake]

14. I'd say he did know his father quite well.

He is also aware of how the corporate conservative media machine is about to cannonized Reagan on his 100th birthday, making him into a mythical figure and whitewashing the real history. Once that is done, the corporate conservative bots on the boards responsible for the textbooks will write the new manufactured history into the school books.

[pacalo]

55. I thought the family was dysfunctional & didn't mesh together well.

Nancy had tunnel vision when it came to her Ronnie; the children were relatively pushed aside, Nancy was so focused on Ronnie. Patti Davis described her father as distant.

And from a 1988 People magazine article about Michael Reagan:

In a first family whose children are often noisily outspoken, Nancy had good reason to be wary of another offspring author. Daughter Patti's mischievous novel, Home Front, about a President much like her father, had left Nancy badly rattled. And she knew Michael, 43, to be a much looser cannon than Patti, 35, his sister, Maureen, 47, or his half-brother, Ron, 29. Thin-skinned and resentful, he had long seemed the odd man out in the Reagan brood. "I didn't feel I belonged in so perfect a family," he says now. "I've spent my life trying to figure out how to make Ronald Reagan my friend." Although his relationship with his father was curiously stilted, Michael's anger had come to settle on Nancy. Their feud became public in 1984 when Michael was absent from a Thanksgiving gathering and Nancy described father and son as "estranged." Michael responded that he was "shocked and hurt."

(...)

When Reagan sat down to write his memoirs in August 1986, he was filled with bitterness. "I didn't know where all that anger and hate was coming from," he says, "but it was aimed smack dab at my family." He was 41 years old, with an undistinguished and somewhat checkered career, capped by 20 years as a fast-talking boat salesman. He had tried to be an actor, without much success, and his future looked trivial and unpromising. Everything he did seemed to pale in comparison with the achievements of his mother, actress Jane Wyman, and his father. "If my parents weren't so damned famous," he remembers thinking, "I wouldn't be going through all this. It's their fault. It was easy for them to achieve more than their parents, but how do I achieve more than the Presidency and my mother's Academy Award?" Stymied by his own barely suppressed rage, he found himself unable to express his feelings.




http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20098541,00.html

[Can of Whoop-ass]

101. Simply

Michael Reagan is an appaling hate-monger.

Listen to his death messages:
http://www.reagan.com/

[rurallib]

104. Michael Reagan was adopted and IIRC he and Dad went years

without speaking due to some problem between them.
Remember sister Patty changed her last name to mom's name Davis because she disliked her father so much at the time.

[Celebration]

7. hindsight is 20 20

I'm not sure that it would have been appropriate for her to come out with her observations after one meeting. I've actually suspected people of having Alzheimer's when it turned out not to be the case. Naturally I was glad I hadn't told anyone my suspicions.

[unblock]

10. c'mon, it's not like a reporter would want to report the SCOOP OF THE CENTURY

well it wouldn't really be a scoop because many of us in the t.v. audience could tell that the emperor had no clothes.

it says much about the people around him -- the "watchdog press" included -- that they refused to state the obvious, even though it would have been a really juicy story.

once upon a time, reporters were eager to report, you know,... news.

[CrispyQ]

34. Once upon a time . . .

They can't keep their cushy six-figure corporate jobs as news readers if they actually do journalism.

When everything is privatized, there is only one message - that of the owners. Now that we get our news through the internet, they're going after it too.

[femrap]

11. Good grief....

you had to be f*cking stupid not to know that Raygun's brain was falling into the abyss. I thought everyone knew it at the time. Well, everyone who was perceptive, I guess.

Geez. Stahl would have been fired if she said anything.

Look at what journalists we have today....Robert Parry, for example. He's good...and barely making a living.

How many of you 'progressives' have done things you felt were wrong/unethical at your Corporate jobs, but you did so because you like having a f*cking roof over your heads?

Reality. Watch it and learn. Look at 'Boner'....he's a fucking alcoholic. Anyone saying anything? Barbara Walters did....she said that 'this man has something wrong with him.' Ever heard anymore?

No, he looks like a little Bassett Hound and so people feel sorry for him....

[Javaman]

95. naaa, it's more like no one wants to hear the truth. so the washington beltway crew

circle the wagons to protect their own, regardless of party.

They don't give a damn about us. They think we honestly believe every word of bullshit they feed us.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. "He seemed to recover"

Based on experience with Alzheimer's sufferers, including my own stepfather, I can state with certainty that such people do seem to fade in and out. As the disease progresses, the "out" periods become longer and longer, but in the early stages, they're "in" more than they're "out."

[EFerrari]

29. That's what I've seen, too. And CF this with Sargent Shriver

who spoke at the launch of his biography in 2004 where his Alzheimer's was directly mentioned.

[Le Taz Hot]

89. Thank you for that.

I was wondering if the drifting in and out thing was part of the disease. You just answered it.

[hunter]

16. I saw Reagan at a live appearance during his second term.

It was shockingly obvious he didn't know where he was or what he was doing there.

But the evening television news managed to show a little sound bite Reagan managed to spout as if nothing was amiss, and the morning paper reported likewise.

Lesley Stahl was one of many who had not the courage to report what she had witnessed.

[Vickers]

37. "managed to show a little sound bite Reagan managed to spout as if nothing was amiss"

I think that happened a lot.

Selective editing for the "greater good" (sic).

[CreekDog]

59. I saw him at a BYU appearance in 1991 (mixed, in my view)

he gave kind of an average speech for him --not bad, nothing extraordinary. he seemed genuinely befuddled by the "Why did you arm Iraq" banners some students hoisted during his speech.

what i remember that matters to this story is:

at one point he lost his train of thought, but the way he lost it was odd. it was as if his mind stopped altogether, like he forgot where he was. he stopped talking and got a distant look (midway through his presentation). it was so pronounced that me and the Reagan-loving friend I invited with my ticket said to each other "wow".

however, moments later, later in the Q&A session, a student had trouble with the mic and he quickly and charmingly asked, "was your question how to work that thing?"

i think DUers that talk about Alzheimer's as a black and white thing, only after physician's diagnosis and argue vehemently that it couldn't exist prior to that --i think they are misleading. like many conditions or diseases, visible symptoms are not going to be 100% of the time, before or after diagnosis.

[hunter]

67. I think WestSeattle2's post #63 is a good one.

Reagan's acting skills served him well as his mind began to fade.

That's sad.

On the other hand, Reagan wasn't any kind of saint when he still had all his marbles. As California Governor he vowed to "send the welfare bums back to work" and to "clean up the mess at Berkeley." The election of Jerry Brown was like the sun coming out after that.

Given Reagan's history in California, I doubt his early Alzheimer's symptoms had anything at all to do with his dismissal of the AIDS crisis and the USA's peak oil crisis. He'd sold out to the devil already and I'm not sure he would have in any way objected to be used as a puppet by them that brought him to the dance.

They were his team and they made him look good. He willingly played the part until they took him off the stage.

[Javaman]

96. My mom had alzhiemers...

and knowing how it worked, the last thing I would ever want would be a president of the US holding the launch codes while he's fading in and out.

What a colossally dangerous thing to put the nation through.

What I take away from this is: george h w bush was running the show in the second term. much like turd blossom did for moron* during both is terms.

[old mark]

17. I do recall that several times it WAS reported that Reagan "fell asleep"...

during cabinet meetings and such...I believe they were trying to tell us without actually telling us...
I tried to find these stories on Google, but I'm having a hard time doing that...has this been cleaned up so not to sully the memory of Holy Ron of the GOP?


mark

[Ilsa]

68. I remember that. They were just giving us the facts, no conclusions, which is was

The responsible thing to do unless they had a firm medical diagnosis. I don't want amateur opinions on observations like that.

Reagan's doctor should have informed the VP and Congress, though, that Reagan wasnt up to the job.

[bettyellen]

93. Sleeping with his eyes open- really now?

[masmdu]

18. Thanks a lot ... It would have been a different world if you'd have done your Job!

[Raine]

65. No, it wouldn't be. Stahl wouldn't have been

backed up she would've been discredited the way Dan Rather was years later with his piece on Chimp and the National Guard.

[Ichingcarpenter]

19. I read they were afraid the 25th amendment would have been used

And I think legally it could have been if the depth of Reagan's Alzheimer's disease became known. It might have caused a constitutional crisis.

[stevenleser]

115. See, I dont understand that. I'm not directing that at you but what constitutional crisis?

The constitution (in this case, the 25th amendment) is pretty clear in cases like that. The Vice President takes over.

Reminds me of the whole Bush v Gore thing and the excuse the SCOTUS members used to stop the recount. The constitution is pretty explicit on that too. If the election cannot be decided by voting and electoral votes, the Presidency is decided by the House and the Vice Presidency by the senate. So there was no reason to stop the recount. Let it go until either a final decision is reached or an impass. There is no constitutional crisis if one follows the Constitution.

[Spike89]

20. Report what?

Exactly what "facts" did she have? She met the President who seemed preoccupied, then he focused. She isn't a doctor, she didn't examine the president, she didn't even get the supporting staff stories of him "pulling himself together" until later.

In hindsight, sure, it is obvious that he was at least in the early stages of Alzheimer's, but that isn't a diagnosis a reporter in a quick press briefing should be making.

Of course, everybody feels they can make a snap diagnosis of a stranger's mental state based on almost no info, but that isn't true.

[hunter]

23. She could have reported events exactly as they occured.

Just the facts, nothing more.

She might even have asked a few penetrating questions revealing of Reagan's state of mind.

But then she would have been locked out of her job.

The mainstream media in the United States is an integral part of the political machine. Reporters who don't follow the rules of the machine are expelled.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

31. This is a woman he had been interviewd by --

in the past, yet he appeared to not know who she was. She could have reported that without having an MD.

[Spike89]

43. That is simply not a fact that can be reported

She "thought" it appeared he didn't know her? She did not know what was going on in his mind. Indeed, if he'd asked "who are you?" "where am I" or even "sorry, I was daydreaming there" that is something she could, and probably should have reported.

Reporters have no business injecting their bias, opinion, or guesses into straight news. She certainly should have used the experience to begin digging into the situation, but even a highly disclaimed report suggesting a president is becoming incapacitated is very dangerous. Making such a claim because someone "seemed not to recognize me" is just wrong.

I'd be (and have been) disgusted to hear "he/she seemed to feel..." within a news report. It is such an obvious avenue to insert bias. "Obama seemed to be feeling guilty about his Kenya birth instead of reacting to the latest..." Give me something to back it up, a real source that bolsters your impression...a staff member quote, a doctor's quote...

Doesn't matter if it is a repug, democrat, or even some celebrity twit. It is simply destructive and extremely bad journalism to launch rumors, especially when they can be so damaging. Whether it turns out to be true or not has no bearing on the ethics.

[Marnie]

21. Alzheimerss is a very slow progressing disability

but physicians who deal with older patients are likely to notice symptoms and test for it a the same time they are testing for other types of mental and physical deterioration affecting the elderly. There was then and as far as I know still is no definitive diagnoses except by postmortem biopsy of the brain tissue.

But hindsight tells us that a person who is other wise physically healthy can survive physically for a decade or more after significant signs of mental deterioration are overtly noticeable

So yes, the WH knew Reagan probably had Alzheimer's and chose to let a man who was increasingly mentally incompetent keep his finger on the proverbial nuclear red button.
They endangered the safety of America and Americans at home and abroad in their own selfish need to stay in their positions of power.

[Javaman]

97. Frankly, I think it effects people differently...

my moms Alzheimer's, progressed rapidly during the last 4 years of her life.

my grandmother (my mom's mom), also started early on and went full tilt really quickly.

frankly, this scares the living shit out of me. I can't do enough cross word puzzles or memory games.

[Imagevision]

24. Reagan was mentally unfit in 1986...

[DeSwiss]

78. ....

Reagan was mentally unfit in 1986...

/fixed

[shanti]

25. the administration didn't care

bush was in charge, and that's the way they liked it.

[intaglio]

26. Churchill was mentally incompetant in his last term

Last term as Prime Minister, of course no one reported that. possibly slow Alzheimer's but more likely ongoing micro strokes.

[xxqqqzme]

27. I have, over the years, wondered

which reporter would finally break the silence about not reporting on his slide downhill. I was in the same room w/ st ronnie, in '68, at a reception, when he was governor of California. He was engaged and 'bright'. That person had disappeared by the time he was president. By the time his administration was closing, I think there was a concentrated and dedicated effort by Nancy & the WH to keep his condition secret. It was a race to see which would happen first, January 20, 1989 or his dementia exposed.

[snooper2]

28. Why do you copy in the "RawStory" link

all they do is copy stories from other outfits...they do 0 actual reporting...Way to be real- RAW :eyes:

[druidity33]

58. wasn't always so...

I remember good reporting from Larissa Alexandrovna and yes even what's his name prior to the Rove indictment fiasco...

:shrug:

[Sonoman]

30. I often think back to his first inauguration, when he turned to an aide and asked...

"Well, what do we do now?"

That's why they picked the doddering old fool, much as they did *.

Sonoman

[canetoad]

32. Don't know if this was ever on in the US

The Brits had a marvellous TV satire called Spitting Image.

An Audience with Ronald Reagan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yovzZkf6OFQ

[Initech]

35. What's worse - a mentally unstable president, or what the birthers claim?

I vote the latter more than the former.

[karynnj]

36. One time where it was pretty apparent was over Iran/Contra

Reagan at one point, after something was proven, spoke apologizing for having denied it claiming that he really hadn't remembered doing what he said he didn't. I remember then thinking he sounded sincere - but putting that down to him having been an actor. (It seemed inconceivable that he would not remember something that significant - it never occurred to me that he likely was telling the truth and was losing his memory. I suspect that his acting might have given him some tools to better hide it than most.

[seabeyond]

38. i remember that one reason he didnt remember the meetings was he had fallen asleep

so it was out there. last night with ronnie on colbert he said reagan didnt have in office, and i said to hubby.... only that he fell asleep in the meetings.

[bettyellen]

92. falling asleep. is a eumphemism for spacing out now? Narcolespsy is not a sympton of AZ

If he had his eyes open, and was in a fog, perhaps the world sleep was a kind lie. But a lie still, and a huge one.

[Major Hogwash]

85. He was a B rate actor. But his skills at portraying other people certainly helped him.

I asked my Grandpa what he thought of him and that's what he said, "he's just a 'B' rate actor."
I said he wasn't that bad was he?
My Grandpa looked at me, leaned over, and said, "yeah, he was. Go ask the chimp he used to act with."

LoL

[karynnj]

107. You have a cool grandpa!

[Dappleganger]

40. He was Saint Ronnie...

and she knew just who buttered her bread.

[JackRiddler]

41. A mental deterioration was visible in his appearances from 1984 forward...

and it was not subject to much debate among people I knew, even in talk with conservatives (who supported him anyway because they were still for the politics and said they trusted the cabinet, etc.). It just wasn't something they were going to say on TV.

[Mopar151]

42. When was he (never?) an intellectual giant?

Like Bread and Puppet's giant heads, there were always several people behind the facade.

I can see him doing phone calls off his "cue cards", as Ron Jr. reported, and spacing for a moment between calls. Still scares me less than Nancy's astrologers........

[L. Coyote]

44. I know I did. It sure was obvious, and a great excuse to run a criminal enterprise

from the main floor of the White House.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

47. "My name is Ronald Reagan. What's yours?" The boy said, "I'm your son, Mike." "Oh," said Reagan. "I

Reagan is the adopted son of President Ronald Reagan and his first wife, the actress Jane Wyman (they were divorced in 1952). He is a politically conservative talk-show host and has also been an actor, speed-boat racer, arms dealer and game-show host.

His adoption was not a happy one and he is now estranged from his family. He tells a story from his childhood which illustrates his relationship with his parents. In 1964 Ronald Reagan was the commencement speaker at an exclusive preparatory school outside Scottsdale, Arizona. He was standing with several of the graduating seniors, who were invited to pose for pictures with him. He chatted to each of the graduates in turn, and to one of the boys said: "My name is Ronald Reagan. What's yours?" The boy said, "I'm your son, Mike." "Oh," said Reagan. "I didn't recognize you."

[renate]

57. I remember reading that story

It explains a lot about Michael, I think. What a life-changing moment for a kid.

[idrahaje]

49. Hey then we has Bush Jr who cheated thru school.

And hence didn't know squat.


And of course FDR couldn't actually stand, but he did have a brain.

[tanyev]

52. But it was so cute when he related plot points from his movies as if they'd really happened.

:eyes:

[Major Hogwash]

56. It was obvious to those (us) who had been around older people that he was really out of it.

Even my grandpa said that Reagan wasn't fit to the lead the country.
He looked at me one time and said, "Do you think I could be the President?"

My grandpa was almost the same age as Reagan, yet my grandpa could barely still drive at that point in time, and that was in 1982!

[calimary]

60. It's not the crime, Lesley, it's the coverup.

[Raine]

84. The crime was his doctors that covered it up

and the people in the inner circle. Leslie was way at the end of the line, the cover-up was from the higher ups. I thought the point of presidents having annual physicals was so the nation would know whether or not the leader was fit to lead. Apparently those physicals are worth nothing since they so easily lie about them and are actually used as cover. Yeah sure the president is in great shape. :eyes:

[WestSeattle2]

61. That's Alzheimer's! It's a progressive disease that in most

cases slowly steals the mind. It's not like one day you wake up and don't know family members - it normally takes years to reach point. In its infancy though, victims fade in and out - exactly as Stahl and WH staffers experienced with Reagan.

My mother suffered from Alzheimer's. At the onset, one day she'd be just fine, the next she'd be putting the clothes iron back in the freezer. The glazed, far away look in the eyes is very real, and that too comes and goes. It's truly a wicked disease which not only affects its victim, but everyone who is close to the victim.

Anyone who was close to Reagan at that time, has to know that he was suffering from Alzheimer's while he was in office.

[uppityperson]

79. You can cover up for yourself for quite some time, then it becomes apparent

you fade in and out as time goes by, but you can go for quite a while before it becomes apparent. Have a friend who told me a relative was recently diagnosed and is amazed at how fast it is progressing. While talking, she realized it had been happening for a while, and was passed over as absent mindedness and the like.

Alzheimer's sucks for everyone involved.

I think they had to know. Seriously. I do not see any way they could not have, for those dealing with him regularly.

[WestSeattle2]

118. Absolutely. My mother's neurologist told us that victims learn

to compensate - and some do very, very well at it. Many are able to cover up their diminishing mental faculties for years - before it gets so bad that it's impossible to hide.

I think it's important for people to realize that we're not talking about turning 40 and forgetting what you went downstairs for. That's normal. Or losing your glasses, only to discover they are on your head. Again - normal! Embarrassing, but normal! That stuff happens to all of us.

Alzheimer's is different. The first time we took my mother to a neurologist, she could not draw an elephant; did not know who the president was (ironically, it was Reagan); was not sure what year it was; and was not able to perform elementary math. This was a college educated woman who had been an office manager for years. She was diagnosed at 56 years old - otherwise known as early onset Alzheimer's. It was very tragic, and something I would not wish on anyone.

[nadinbrzezinski]

63. This reporter failed in her duty

on the bright side, when Reagan said to Congress I do not recall during Iran Contra... he was NOT lying.

[Raine]

64. I can't blame her, would CBS or anyone else have backed her

up .. NO of course not! There would have been denial from literally EVERYONE. Nothing would have come from it except she would have ended up like Dan Rather.

[pitchforksandtorches]

80. I give thanks to the FSM that the fucker is dead.

[PufPuf23]

81. Reagan was at least partially impaired following the attempted assassination event.

Reagan was always a mean and insincere spirit in life and politics.

I am a native Californian, a UC Berkeley student under Reagan, and resigned from a professional position as a Fed during th cynisism of the Reagan Administration.

The Reagan trajectory is what has created the current reality and damage to the Nation and world and many individuals.

But Reagan was only a senile, attractive(to many), ignorant and willing patsy to the agenda of traitors to humanity and respect to Nature's God; Reagan was a tool.

I worry that POTUS Obama is a tool regardless of his true heart and ambitions.

POTUS Obama even mentioning Reagan makes me want to puke.

The canonization of Reagan is the dark side of Nature's American experiment.

Ron Jr. has a backbone.

[Sherman A1]

86. We all knew to some degree, however it should have been

pushed harder by an investigative media.

[spicegal]

90. I've always suspected that there was a cover-up with

regard to Reagan's Alzheimer's. I remember how his head used to shake and the stories about him carrying 3x5 cards in his pocket. Alzheimer's is insidious with good days and bad days. Nancy was always glued to his side, like a seeing eye dog. Makes you wonder who was running the country. Yes, St. Ronnie, the guy who set us on our downward path to plutocracy. Did he really know what he was doing?

[ingac70]

91. It would have been just as bad....

if he knew what planet he was on. Reagan was an asshole.

[Javaman]

94. Just goes to show that the repukes are more interested in easily manipulated cardboard cutouts

than actual leaders.

[dotymed]

98. I think,

the majority here can agree that our nation is run by an entity other than our supposed elected officials.
If we have any hope of ever restoring a true Democracy to America, we must stand as one and "do it." All of the resistance against this happening is coming from those who control our country and ultimately, us.
IMO, this has to be done non-violently and very, very soon. There is a "point of no return" and hopefully we are not there yet.
I also understand that by just sitting here, typing this, I am doing very little to accomplish this resurgence.
Even my RW friends agree that there are "TPTB" (for lack of a better term), that control our country and most of the world. Most of them are very comfortable (economically) and therefore have little interest in rocking the boat.
IMO, our main hope lies with the economically disenfranchised, and our ability to organize and act.
That is the basis for "the class war" that we are losing terribly. TPTB understand that the threat lies with the disadvantaged. By increasing the economic pressure on us, it sure makes it harder to concentrate on what needs to be done. That strategy may backfire and cause the majority, because of the extreme duress, to act out of survival mode.

[northoftheborder]

99. This is an important post and thread. Especially #98

[dreamnightwind]

119. great post

and I'd like to see a lot more focus on this exact issue here on DU. If that's not an appropriate issue for DU, perhaps someplace else (where?). How do we get control of the country back from TPTB?

"See More" Hersh has his ideas, at least about some piece of TPTB:

---------------
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/18/seymour_hersh_unleashed

He also charged that U.S. foreign policy had been hijacked by a cabal of neoconservative "crusaders" in the former vice president's office and now in the special operations community.

"What I'm really talking about is how eight or nine neoconservative, radicals* if you will, overthrew the American government. Took it over," he said of his forthcoming book. "It's not only that the neocons took it over but how easily they did it -- how Congress disappeared, how the press became part of it, how the public acquiesced."

...

He then alleged that Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who headed JSOC before briefly becoming the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and his successor, Vice Adm. William McRaven, as well as many within JSOC, "are all members of, or at least supporters of, Knights of Malta."

Hersh may have been referring to the Sovereign Order of Malta, a Roman Catholic organization commited to "defence of the Faith and assistance to the poor and the suffering," according to its website.

---------------

I think larger forces are involved. The real question, though, may not be who they are, but how to get power back to the citizens. Real discussion of this question is what I'd like to see, the more the better.

[fascisthunter]

100. What is a Free Press?

never seen such a thing... I wonder what it would've been like.

[sarcasmo]

110. Kick.

[mentalsolstice]

117. Hindsight folks!

Stahl could have reported or not. As a licensed professional, I understand that unlicensed people don't want to delve into areas outside of their expertise.

However, if this had been reported by journalists, or gov't officials, all it would have got us was Bush 1.0 earlier (resignation or 25th Amendment).

The reason Bush 2.0 was safe: 1) Liberals generally don't resort to violence, and 2) We would have had President Cheney. Actually, Bush 1.0 ensured his safety by having Quayle as his VP.

I often question why the crazies call for Obama's demise...as it would result in Pres. Biden. Except for a few of his votes (Iraq and bankruptcy), Biden seems to be more progressive than his boss. However, I guess Biden gets a pass for being an older white guy.