Pollster Zogby Analytics asked more than a thousand likely voters earlier this month if they thought it was likely that presumptive Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden was suffering from the early stages of dementia. The results: “A majority (55%) of likely voters surveyed thought it was more likely … that Vice President Biden is in the early stages of dementia.”
Sixty percent of voters aged 18-24 thought so, and when the sample was extended to 18-29, 59 percent thought so. Sixty percent of men thought Biden was suffering from the early stages of dementia while women were evenly split on the issue.
When sorted by political affiliation, 77 percent of Republicans think Biden is suffering from early stage dementia while 56 percent of Independents think so. Even among Democrats, a third of them recognize the early symptoms of dementia in their presumptive candidate.
Douglas Golden, writing for the Western Journal, said that “anyone who’s watched Biden’s public activities can tell this is a man exhibiting what I’ll charitably and euphemistically refer to as mental diminishing returns.”
Bloggers have devoted myriad websites cataloguing Biden’s mental foibles, such as SpeakingAboutNews.com: “Here Are Dozens of Examples of Biden’s Dementia Symptoms” as of March 7.
It’s serious business and the symptoms are clear. Healthline lists some of them:
Subtle short-term memory lapses;
Difficulty finding the right words;
Apathy or listlessness;
Mood swings;
Difficulty completing familiar tasks;
Confusion, being unable to remember faces or names or interact with people normally;
Difficulty following storylines or conversations;
Losing sense of direction or following directions;
Repeating the same questions after they’ve been answered; and
Can’t remember why they’re where they are or where they’re going.
The prognosis is dim. WebMD reports, “If the conditions that cause dementia go untreated, the prognosis is not good. A person with vascular dementia may seem to improve for periods of time … but eventually, untreated vascular dementia usually ends in death.”
It’s a little more than four months before the election. If Biden’s dementia takes its normal course it will become more and more obvious to even the casual observer.
For readers more intensely following the political battle shaping up leading to the November 3 general election, what’s surprising isn’t that more than half of those Zogby polled think Biden is suffering from early stage dementia. What’s surprising is that nearly half remain convinced that he has the mental acuity to take on the president during the upcoming debates.
Photo: AP Images
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American, writing primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
