The elephant in the room - Donald Trump's physical and mental deterioration

[pbrower2a]

Let's face it, this is an age issue. For sure, not every 70 or 75 year old is demented, but it's a fair point to raise if someone that age is POTUS. That's also why Biden shouldn't be prez. Possibly Sanders as well, although he makes a more vital impression.

Trump has definitely lost some of his cognitive skills in recent years. Just compare his interviews now with from 20 years ago. Back then, he had a much wider vocabulary. Today, he's talking a lot of crap, regardless of his actual policies.

We had Reagan, and he descended into senility while President. At the least he had good people around him capable of monitoring the effects of a Reagan proposal and getting him to back off when something went awry. The Veep was often doing the more complex stuff as the President became more suspect. Donald Trump surrounds himself with yes-men, and the Veep is simply a fanatic who will differ in style and emphasis alone should Trump die or go into a permanent vegetative state. The Trump Administration has filled itself with yes-men who simply obey orders.

Whether sane and immoral  or simply demented, we get the worst from Trump. He lacks the judgment to recognize that a competent Presidency following that of Barack Obama does not depend upon repudiating him and offending the sensibilities of people who think Obama at least good, let alone above average.

It is more than an issue of age; it is also an issue of character. 

[pbrower2a]

Yazidi human rights advocated and Noble Peace Prize recipient Nadia Murad spoke with Mr. Trump while survivors of religious persecution were welcomed at the White House yesterday (7/18/2019):
 
Nadia Murad: “They [ISIS] Killed my mom, my six brothers.”

Donald Trump: “Where are they now?”

Murad: “They Killed them, they are in the mass graves in Sinjar.”

Donald Trump <Looks around. Silently nods>

https://youtu.be/xYUW-1Wg2xs?t=150

He's a compassionate conservative like Dubya.

CRINGE.

Dubya was never that callow. Add to this -- nobody is giving him guidance on the people that he is meeting in a highly-public setting.  Sure, the political agenda was much the same, especially on energy...

[pbrower2a]

It simply gets worse... and worse... and worse. He was a piece of work even without dementia.

I have seen it, and it can turn a good person bad. My father became abusive, combative, and theatrically destructive, and had to be sent from a regular nursing home to a mental facility. He had been none of that before.

I saw him wrap a leash around my dog's neck -- and he had loved that dog. I had to take the dog home upon seeing that -- and I went back in tears.

[pbrower2a]

I have always found it odd how Republicans hate brown people, but their disgusting fake tans make them look more like the people they hate.

It's deeper than skin (even though it also isn't). Elderly upper class racist white Republicans could steal young fit brown bodies to walk around in (like in that movie) in order to prolong their lives, and they would sit in the mirror and admire their own brown beauty, only to then turn around and hate the other brown people - unless they knew there was a white guy inside pulling the puppet strings.

I've never seen that movie but I can imagine the sexual innuendos.

[pbrower2a]

It keeps getting worse. Diminished capacity may be a stronger case.

[pbrower2a]

People need to stop with this nonsense.

Politicians and Presidents are under almost 24/7 media cameras and scrutiny. Imagine having a camera follow you around daily for years - it would document some pretty stupid moments. Why? Because it’s human to ‘have a moment’. It just so happens that those moments are exposed for the world to see with Trump et al.

Very sophomoric to make such assertions of mental instability. We’re better than that.

Being wrong and correcting oneself is not a lie. Such is the definitive expression of integrity.

[pbrower2a]

We have all been to funerals, and funeral directors and clergy are able to give some comfort to the grieving. They expect people to grieve and suggest that holding back is self-destructive. If we did not feel loss we would be more mechanical than human. I am satisfied that such intelligent animals as dogs and elephants (the latter rivaling us in intelligence) grieve, too.

Trump has long seemed to lack some of the normal decencies that underpin normal life.  But even if one has gaps in one's feelings one can learn some of the tricks of the trade of showing sympathy to the afflicted. Such is essential to political leaders. Dubya may not have mastered that skill, but he did better than does Trump.

If you are the chief of police or the head of a big-city fire department, then you will have to address a loss of a hero. The President cannot get away with being a cold-hearted executive 100% of the time; there will be tragedies, including mass tragedies. Dealing with those is part of the job.