I don't see it. I'm around elderly people quite often and Biden seems very similar to the ones who still think clearly and have good judgment. Slower, yes. Balance not so good. Occasional memory lapses. The occasional blank stare (heck, I'm sure that *I* do that.) But still entirely capable of intelligent thought and conversation.
Here is an analysis from a neuroscientist. This is where I learned the term "retrieval failure".
This seems like a much more likely characterization of what we're seeing in Joe Biden.
I DO think you and others have a valid concern about how well Biden would hold up over a four-year term. My own father was sharp and capable at 82, but went downhill fast within a couple years.
(And I'd encourage you to go back and watch the tapes, and reread Special Counsel Robert Hur's report, who spent hours with the man in his diminished state)
I, too, have spent significant time with some extraordinarily vital octogenarians. Equally I've spent time with some who are feeble and incapable. Age, as I'm sure you know, has very little to do with dementia...but I think the evidence is clear that we see is exactly that.
It's not simple retrieval failure. Heck, we all experience that as the rolodex grows in volume ...and we watch it spin while waiting for the right name to arrive. No, what we witness is disconnect: the maundering, wandering, cluelessness...interspersed with occasional tantrum & rage (also quite typical). It's why Jill waits offstage, to grab his hand and lead him peacefully to an exit when the performance is done.
Honestly, given his presence, his speech, his memory, and his general behavior -- I can't think of any business that would hire him. As cruel as it probably sounds, he'd struggle as a WalMart greeter if you asked him where the linens were.
I wish I were wrong. I'd much prefer we had a President who is compos mentis. I fear we do not...and worse, I fear it's more than visible to our enemies and friends alike.
(But I would not, offhand, recommend SOTU as an example of 'normal Biden'. When we compare that hyped up performance to 'normal Joe' I think POTUS during SOTU was on drugs)
No, what's interesting is that two people can see the exact same thing and understand it in two entirely different ways. It leads one to question whether, in fact, we were truly seeing 'the same thing'...or are our perceptual filters such that we see only what we are inclined to see ... and "disregard the rest".
Which, of course, brings us to the rest of the lyric:
This has been nagging at me for a week, and so I'll go ahead and write it. I was so charmed by your mention of The Boxer, that I let something else you wrote slide: You can't exclude the SOTU as evidence of whether Biden has dementia. A single counter-example is sufficient to prove a proposition false. If a person with dementia could not have given that SOTU, Biden does not have dementia. I've spent enough time around people with various degrees of dementia to believe that a person with dementia could not have given that speech as he did, drugs or no drugs. He was alert, he spoke with expression, indicating that he understood what he was saying, he reacted quickly to the heckling. As you say, that's my perception and our perceptions can differ, so we probably have to agree to disagree about that. But the SOTU can't be ruled out as evidence for whether he has dementia.
I don't see it. I'm around elderly people quite often and Biden seems very similar to the ones who still think clearly and have good judgment. Slower, yes. Balance not so good. Occasional memory lapses. The occasional blank stare (heck, I'm sure that *I* do that.) But still entirely capable of intelligent thought and conversation.
Here is an analysis from a neuroscientist. This is where I learned the term "retrieval failure".
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2024/02/15/opinion-im-neuroscientist-were/
This seems like a much more likely characterization of what we're seeing in Joe Biden.
I DO think you and others have a valid concern about how well Biden would hold up over a four-year term. My own father was sharp and capable at 82, but went downhill fast within a couple years.
We'll agree to disagree.
(And I'd encourage you to go back and watch the tapes, and reread Special Counsel Robert Hur's report, who spent hours with the man in his diminished state)
I, too, have spent significant time with some extraordinarily vital octogenarians. Equally I've spent time with some who are feeble and incapable. Age, as I'm sure you know, has very little to do with dementia...but I think the evidence is clear that we see is exactly that.
It's not simple retrieval failure. Heck, we all experience that as the rolodex grows in volume ...and we watch it spin while waiting for the right name to arrive. No, what we witness is disconnect: the maundering, wandering, cluelessness...interspersed with occasional tantrum & rage (also quite typical). It's why Jill waits offstage, to grab his hand and lead him peacefully to an exit when the performance is done.
Honestly, given his presence, his speech, his memory, and his general behavior -- I can't think of any business that would hire him. As cruel as it probably sounds, he'd struggle as a WalMart greeter if you asked him where the linens were.
I wish I were wrong. I'd much prefer we had a President who is compos mentis. I fear we do not...and worse, I fear it's more than visible to our enemies and friends alike.
Yes, we'll agree to disagree, since I did watch the SOTU and saw almost nothing you report having seen.
Really interesting, isn't it?
(But I would not, offhand, recommend SOTU as an example of 'normal Biden'. When we compare that hyped up performance to 'normal Joe' I think POTUS during SOTU was on drugs)
No, what's interesting is that two people can see the exact same thing and understand it in two entirely different ways. It leads one to question whether, in fact, we were truly seeing 'the same thing'...or are our perceptual filters such that we see only what we are inclined to see ... and "disregard the rest".
Which, of course, brings us to the rest of the lyric:
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles
Such are promises
All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest
This has been nagging at me for a week, and so I'll go ahead and write it. I was so charmed by your mention of The Boxer, that I let something else you wrote slide: You can't exclude the SOTU as evidence of whether Biden has dementia. A single counter-example is sufficient to prove a proposition false. If a person with dementia could not have given that SOTU, Biden does not have dementia. I've spent enough time around people with various degrees of dementia to believe that a person with dementia could not have given that speech as he did, drugs or no drugs. He was alert, he spoke with expression, indicating that he understood what he was saying, he reacted quickly to the heckling. As you say, that's my perception and our perceptions can differ, so we probably have to agree to disagree about that. But the SOTU can't be ruled out as evidence for whether he has dementia.
I had a similar thought. And I love that song. A lot of wisdom in just those few words.