Michael Reagan Rips Half-Brother Ron Over Book and Alzheimer's Claim

As the son of a 92 year old mother with severe Alzheimer's, I find it strange that Michael would find it mentioning it to be a "pot shot," like somehow Alzheimer's was a kind of moral failing, something that one needs to be ashamed of, rather than a disease. The early stages are often hard to discern, as most of us have memory lapses as we age. Things like confusion intrude for a moment, then the person is back to their usual self. If surgeons found physical evidence of the disease in 1989, it clearly would have started years before, as it is a very slowly progressing disease. If Michael is mad at his brother for thinking for himself, he should find another excuse to be indignant.

I thought Michael was adopted. That would make Ron his ??? Half brother?

Ronald and Nancy Reagan were "B" level movie actors whose careers were in major decline. They, more or less, lucked into positions of power. Alzheimer's does not appear overnight like the common cold. It develops over years. For a long time the people around the actress Rita Hayworth thought she was merely a drunk. Mr. Reagan had to constantly be told what to do and reminded of what he was about. If he wasn't impaired he was, at best, ill-prepared. When he ran for president he insisted that his son Ron marry as he was a ballet dancer and the implication would be that he was gay. He made many odd declarations over the years, my favorite being that ketchup was considered a vegetable in school lunches. The kindest thing I can say about Mrs. Reagan is that she cut a far more elegant figure as First Lady than she ever did as an actress.

Reagan, while he was President, talked about his tour of duty during World War II when he helped to liberate a concentration camp. That never happened. Reagan never left the US during World War II. That was when I thought he was suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's disease takes years to identify.

Young Ron Reagan is one of the last persons I would consult for an evaluation of disrupted thinking processes.

I don't feel that a thought process before speaking, or the use of note cards is an indication of alzheimers. If they were Obama is in his late stages of Alzheimers. Obama's misstatment of 57 states, his Muslim religion and his inability to almost put together a sentence when asked a question without the use of the Teleprompter. Reagan was a Great President and did have a lot more years of experience and a much geater difference in age.

I am a mental health professional and most people who are not trained or have had a family member with dementia or alzheimer's would not recognize it in another--particularly a well managed and protected president of the United States. With that being said, it was obvious to me and others I associated with in the fields of psychology and mental health that Reagan was showing signs of age related dementia or TIA's even at the very onset of his presidency and by his second term signs of alzheimer's. My mother who is now 92 has alzheimer's and in hindsight to my family now we realize that it began when she was 80. It begins in ways that family and friends make excuses for and rationalizations for their moments of altered behavior, personality differences, short term memory lapses, the inability to have or give a concise, fluid, coherent, speech or conversation. In Reagan's case when he would often get off track while speaking he would ramble and tell a story about something in his past or someone in his past--it is always initially the short term memory that is affected--so, people with dementia and alzheimer's can remember past events fairly well so this is what they rely on--until their language skills and intellectual capacity fade--and it is often very gradual. Additionally, people with developing dementia and/or alzheimer's can cognitively/intellectually fluctuate where on one occasion they appear sharp and all seems fine and then the next day they cannot find the words or they ramble and their memory has lapses. Again, unless you have direct long term experience or are a trained professional many/most people would not recognize the signs--And, in the case with President Reagan many just opted to wear blinders or shades or look the other way or make excuses for something that was too painful to face--likely including his staff and doctors~

President Regan even if he did have alzheimer's in the early stages was a remarkable man and one that has yet to be surpassed by todays version of leader.

I am a senior citizen, and for as long as I can remember, President Reagan had a
"hesitancy" in his speech> I attributed this to "taking in what was said" and
making sure his answers were correct and to the point" Dear God, that is not a
case of dementia !!! I have even noticed in some of his old films, the same thing !
Michael, I am with you ! President Reagan was a giant in my eyes and I commend
you for your faith, and standing up for you Dad.

There my not have been "intentional" cover up of Reagen's cognitive decline. This was 20 years ago, and much more is known of early indicators of Alzheimer's disease now. I think most clinicians NOW would say that if evidence of advanced cortical atrophy was evident in 1989, then he was pretty well into the disease process. I am no fan of fmr. President Reagen, nor have I ever been. I think many want to preserve his dignity.

The fact of the matter is that higher cognitive functions were in decline: complex attention, executive functions such as reasoning and judgement, reaction and processing time.

I don't know how much of history would have changed...but I do think we need to take this issue into consideration for future presidential candidates of advanced age. We have a right to know the health and condition of the leader of our country, whether he has Parkinsons, M.S., had a stroke, a brain injury. I can tell you that most physicians and lawyers would have been in retirement if they had similar presentations, for the safety of their patients and clients.

I will concede that is probably very hard to acknowledge the shortcomings of a leader you admired, and to justify it. I know I did when news of Clintons wrongdoings came to light. Still loved him as President, but he has some major impulse control issues.