PURELY POLITICAL, By James Buckley
I attended a Republican gathering some years ago where the featured speaker was comic actor Bob Hope, then in his 90s.
As he stood at an outside podium to give his speech, he began by reading a lengthy yarn that elicited quite a few laughs. But just as he finished telling it, a gust of wind came up and blew his notes to the ground. The papers were quickly gathered and put back in order, and Mr. Hope, nonplussed, began to read word for word the exact same lengthy joke he had read, not 10 minutes before. All with the same timing and emphasis he had just given.
He had, apparently, no memory of having already read his humorous account.
The audience played along, laughing nervously again at the same points and at the eventual punchline, but it was obvious to all that Mr. Hope had lost much of his cognitive acuity, that he was in an advanced state of mental decline. His condition had likely been brought on by Alzheimer’s disease, but one wouldn’t have realized that had the wind not blown his notes to the ground.
Another incident also comes to mind. When singer/songwriter Glen Campbell came to the Lobero to give one of his final concerts a couple years before his death in 2017 at the age of 81, he apologized to his audience, informing us that he indeed was suffering from Alzheimer’s and could no longer remember the words to the songs he had not only written but had also recorded and made famous.
His guitar playing was as good as ever, but he needed to place the words of his songs on the floor in front of him as he sang. It was a brave and poignant performance, and he and his wife, Kim, did their best to smile and greet fans and supporters on the patio behind the Lobero after the concert.
HEADING FOR THE SUNSET OF HIS LIFE
And then there was President Ronald Reagan, whose cognitive debilitation became noticeable during the last two years of his administration. He left office in January 1989 with most of his faculties intact, but one could see he was failing.
On Nov. 5, 1994, he penned a letter that he had written himself addressed to “My Fellow Americans.” In it, he announced that he was “one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease.” He wrote the letter after having been medically diagnosed with the ailment and expressed hope that his going public “might promote greater awareness of this condition.”
He finished with a generosity of spirit that most of us pray we can muster when our time comes.
“At the moment,” he wrote, “I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done. I will continue to share life’s journey with my beloved Nancy and my family. I plan to enjoy the great outdoors and stay in touch with my friends and supporters.”
He added that as the disease progresses, families are often tasked with the “heavy burden” of care that is required and wished “there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience.” He then thanked the American people for giving him “the great honor of allowing me to serve as your President,” and he expressed his “great love for this country of ours.”
He ended his missive with the lines that will live long after the memory of his earthly existence goes cold: “I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you. Sincerely, Ronald Reagan.”
His heartfelt exit was applauded by a grateful nation. After his death in 2004, tens of thousands of people and vehicles crowded the roads along which the former president’s body was taken from Santa Monica to a hilltop burial service at sunset some 65 miles to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. They came with signs, flowers, flags and banners, offering a last salute to a beloved president.
Joe Biden, our current president, is in an advanced state of mental decline. It is obvious to anyone with eyes and ears. He has put himself and his country in a precarious position. If he were a Republican, there would be calls to activate the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.
But there is no pressure from Democrats or from the far-left fringes of the party for two important reasons.
Firstly, the people in charge of this presidency (senior advisers Susan Rice and Jake Sullivan and a small coterie of radical mentors) are accustomed to relaying outright falsehoods with straight faces (i.e., Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and of course, Susan Rice) and are reliably left-leaning.
Secondly, Vice President Kamala Harris, though probably as pliable as President Biden, is regarded as something of a loose cannon who may not be as easily controlled as the current president. For example, when put in charge of the border she did … absolutely nothing. No statements, no policy suggestions, not even a visit to her assigned station. She could easily have rattled off a half-dozen good leftist-approved reasons why the administration is allowing hundreds of thousands of border crossers easy access to the United States and its benefits. But she didn’t.
That President Biden reads everything he says, and he even had to read his short closing statement at the end of what has been dubbed The Three Amigos meeting of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, Joe Biden of the U.S.A. and President Andrés Obrador of Mexico last week. It was laughable and embarrassing.
If he had the courage of Glen Campbell or the dignity of Ronald Reagan, he would resign his office, but he won’t; he has neither. His long and undistinguished service as U.S. senator, vice president and now president has left him feeling as though he is entitled to the office, and he clings to it like a remora on a shark.
Since he is likely to remain as president, at least you now know why he reads everything he says.
As of this writing (Jan. 12, 2023 at 9:19 a.m.), we have 662 days, 14 hours, 42 minutes and 25 seconds before election day on Nov. 5, 2024.
Keep your fingers crossed.
James Buckley is a longtime Montecito resident. He welcomes questions or comments at jimb@substack.com. Readers are invited to visit jimb.substack.com, where Jim’s Journals are on file. He also invites people to subscribe to Jim’s Journal.
