Similar to the person they stand behind, backers of President Biden generally is a feisty bunch.
Whilst extra outstanding supporters bounce ship — Hollywood excessive rollers George Clooney and Rob Reiner say it’s time for Biden to step apart, and former Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi stopped wanting saying she needs Biden to remain within the race — true Bidenistas are digging in.
There’s California Gov. Gavin Newsom, after all, and numerous Home and Senate members who consider Biden ought to keep the course. However I’m listening to immediately from readers ticked off about my column suggesting that Biden bear a full battery of neurological testing (based mostly on assessments by docs I spoke to) to reassure the general public that he’s OK, as he defiantly insists.
“It is best to get examined and the outcomes be made public,” mentioned Dan Cordova of Albuquerque. “You also needs to retire and return beneath a rock.”
“SHAME ON YOU for including to the Biden media feeding frenzy,” wrote Marcy Rothenberg of Porter Ranch. “It’s already been reported that President Biden has arthritis; his again is stiff so he walks slowly. He nonetheless can experience a motorcycle. Can Donald? No. He can’t even stroll a golf course.”
Even former state legislator and L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl shook a stick at me.
“As a substitute of becoming a member of an echo-journalism ignorant drumbeat, maybe you might need, as [history professor and essayist] Heather Cox Richardson did, revealed the letter from the President’s precise physician, Dr. [Kevin] O’Connor, on his neurological examination on the finish of February. I hope you’ll learn her as 1000’s do day-after-day and reveal this in a column.”
I perceive and respect Biden loyalty. As I’ve mentioned earlier than, he appears to be a good and civil man and he’s been a superb president.
I additionally consider, and have usually acknowledged, that former President Trump is a menace, and I don’t know who the higher risk to the republic is — him, or all of the lemmings in line at hand a second time period to a mendacity, hateful, vindictive, narcissistic felon who didn’t ship on just about all of his marketing campaign guarantees (look it up for those who don’t consider me).
Readers have requested how I may write a column saying Biden ought to bear testing, however not Trump, who has had his personal specific set of behavioral points. I assumed it went with out saying that Trump should have his head examined. However positive, I’ll get on board with each of them getting a full diagnostic workup.
I beloved the suggestion by Terry Spencer of Highland Park that Biden and Trump ought to must take the deliberately complicated California DMV license renewal check, and whoever scores highest wins the election.
The Biden backers appears to fall into a number of of three classes. Those that assume his well being is sweet sufficient to deal with the job going ahead. Those that assume it’s too late to change to a alternative candidate. And people who would vote for a bean and cheese burrito earlier than they vote for Trump.
“I by no means give a lot credence to polls, however Biden nonetheless does higher in opposition to Trump than others,” mentioned Kuehl, who added that the chaos of “altering horses in midstream” would do extra injury to the celebration “than sticking with Joe, who, I feel, will win.”
Believable, however the stream is deep, and the horse’s head is barely above water.
A reader named Mark Richardson, of Encinitas, is banking on a passing of the torch, however not simply but.
“We’ll see how the subsequent couple of months go, and if he will get elected, he can resign a month after inauguration day, January 2025 and [Vice President Kamala] Harris can take over,” Richardson mentioned.
Additionally believable, however the important thing phrases are “if he will get elected.” I’ve critical doubts, and mentioned earlier this month that Biden ought to go the baton and stroll away with delight, dignity and beauty. Not due to his age (a lot of older individuals are totally functioning), however due to his well being.
The president didn’t enhance his probabilities along with his stiff gait, slack expressions and phrase stumbles within the June 27 debate. His judgment wasn’t sharp, both. As a substitute of getting lured right into a foolish back-and-forth about which candidate is the perfect golfer, Biden ought to have mentioned that because the planet melts and ladies’s reproductive rights have been stolen by Trump’s Supreme Court docket, he’d slightly discuss saving the nation than enjoying golf.
Issues didn’t get a lot better for Biden within the televised ABC interview a number of days later. And as for the physician’s report cited by Kuehl and numerous others, based mostly on a bodily Biden had in February, it leaves a variety of questions unanswered.
“A particularly detailed neurologic examination was once more reassuring in that there have been no findings which might be in keeping with any cerebellar or different central neurological dysfunction, equivalent to stroke, a number of sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis, nor are there any indicators of cervical myelopathy,” mentioned the report from Biden’s physician.
I’m not taking any assertion from the White Home as gospel reality, no matter who’s in workplace, and I’ve questions.
When precisely was the neurologic examination taken and by whom? What is supposed by “extraordinarily detailed?” And given the progressive nature of reminiscence and motion problems, isn’t it potential Biden’s situation has modified within the final six months, and can proceed to take action?
As Kuehl famous, there’s an enormous distinction between the opinions of physicians making a analysis from a distance and people who really see the affected person in query. I couldn’t agree extra, and in reality, I wrote a column chastising individuals who thought they may diagnose dementia in Biden by watching him on CNN. Dementia isn’t some catch-all phrase for a reminiscence lapse, which might be brought on by any variety of issues.
However regardless of how a lot you’re keen on Biden, hate Trump, or each, I don’t understand how anybody may have watched that debate and never be nervous about Biden’s well being.
Neurological motion problems are sometimes accompanied by particular signs that docs can spot. A number of reached out to me after the talk to say they noticed indicators of Parkinson’s or a associated situation. Two neurologists took word of Biden’s blink charge, facial expressions, stiffness and speech patterns.
One, Dr. Michael Mahler, a neurology specialist and UCLA college member, mentioned he suspected one thing within the “Parkinsonian” paradigm.
Dr. Jack Florin, who has been a USC professor and had analysis fellowships at Stanford and Harvard, mentioned he thinks Biden suffers from a Parkinson’s variant known as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), which may contain cognitive impairment that worsens over time and impression psychological processing pace, consideration and focus.
The White Home report on Biden’s well being didn’t persuade Mahler or Florin that we all know the total story, or that their very own impressions of Biden’s situation are off base. Florin prompt that an MRI, if there hasn’t already been one, could be useful in supporting his concept that Biden has PSP.
Mahler mentioned “a few of the problems within the realm of Parkinsonism are inherently variable,” that means that they modify over time. And “having a standard neurological examination in February (or earlier) means nothing if an individual had a stroke or sequence of small strokes in March.” However he was cautious about making a particular analysis, and mentioned treatment for sure problems can produce signs that mimic Parkinson’s.
“One factor that Biden has repeated is that functioning as president is a more durable check than asking him to attract a clock or recall 5 phrases, and that’s in all probability true,” Mahler mentioned. “But it is usually true that neurologists across the nation noticed one thing in the course of the debate aside from reassurance that the president was neurologically match.”
What I noticed was a tragic second in U.S. political historical past.
A tyrant relying on victory in November.
A weakened president attempting to face tall.
A few of his supporters abandoning him and others doubling down.
It could be that neither candidate will get examined, however come November, all of us are going to be.
steve.lopez@latimes.com
