With all the kerfuffle after the publication of the Jake Tapper book Original Sin (among many others), plus the belated testimony of those around Joe Biden that they had noticed his dementia long before 2024, I am surprised by how little people understand dementia, especially Lewy Body Dementia, which I and many others suspect is the diagnosis. They all talk about how the president said this or that, so they followed his decisions. The “original sin,” according to a staffer quoted by Jake Tapper, was when Joe Biden decided to run again. It was his hubris and pride that allowed him to make the decision. Oh dear -- that lets a lot of people off the hook. Only obeying orders, they will shrug.
A bit ago a relative of mine, who is confined to a memory care unit for his Lewy Body Dementia, called to say that he had spoken with a moving van company to come and help him move his things back home. He hated where he was. Before he could move, however, he had to have the exterminators come and rid the apartment of all the vermin there.
These are classic symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia. We knew well enough that while he sounded authoritative and competent on the phone, he was in no shape to make any such a decision. The first symptom of the disease, the experts say, is the loss of executive function. The hallucinations of vermin are classic Lewy Body Dementia symptoms as well. For a year my relative sat in his office gazing into the computer trying to figure out how to plan a meeting. Because of laws forbidding his being fired for his age -- well over 65 -- the manager had to treat him harshly to make him finally decide to retire, at his family’s urging.
To expect that a man like Joe Biden, who is suffering some kind of dementia, to be responsible for his decision to run again, and being enabled by his power-hungry wife, son, and politburo staff, displays rather substantial ignorance about the disease. For the President of the United States to lose executive function is dangerous to the republic. Such function describes the job of President. Blaming Biden also handily relieves the guilt and responsibility of his circle of family and friends. They can blame the poor guy all they want and put him away in memory care where he may happily continue to think he is president. The American people, however, should demand answers and accountability from those who deluded the public for years, and did ruinous damage to our country.
Image: AT via Magic Studio