2024 US Presidential Election

[Belacqua]

He definitely has a stutter, it's just not nearly as bad as they've made it out to be. 

I honestly didn't know that, and I've seen quite a few videos over the years. But I believe you if you say it, because you're clearly not making up excuses. 

Maybe mental deterioration aggravates incipient stutters. But that's still mental deterioration.

You're right about the 1987 speech. Hell, even in 2012 he was perfectly coherent. The decline has been rapid over the last 4 years in particular.

I was the main caregiver for my mom-in-law, aged 88 to 100. We spent a lot of time at her Day Service among the other oldies. There is a recognizable way that people talk when the mind starts to go. It's not like "The P- P- P- President of Egypt is..." That's a stutter. 

Biden's condition now also reminds me very much of a painting teacher I had years ago. He still knew a lot, and he had periods of clarity when he was a pleasure to talk to. He also couldn't recall certain words or names, and sometimes there were very long pauses. Sometimes he would just walk out in the middle of a critique, thinking it was over, just as Biden has walked out of ceremonies. I was happy to know him, but if somebody told me that he was the only good choice to be chief executive of the United States, I would wonder if there might not be someone more mentally sharp who could do the job instead. Nor would I want his finger on the button.