(RightWing.org) – Despite his age, President Joe Biden has just received a clean bill of health after his annual medical exam. Biden is playing up his report as evidence that he’s fit to serve a second term in the White House. However, it might take more than that to convince Americans that the visibly fading president is capable of another four years in a complicated and stressful job.
A Glowing Report — But Not a Complete One
On February 28, Biden visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for his annual health check. He spent around two and a half hours in the hospital, and later that day the White House released a summary of his report. The six-page document says Biden is a “healthy, active, robust, 81-year-old male” and fit to serve as president.
According to presidential physician Kevin O’Connor who wrote the summary, Biden is “fit for duty and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.” The only major issues he mentioned were occasional acid reflux, sleep apnea — which appears to be a new development since his last checkup in February 2023 — and a stiff gait, which O’Connor said hasn’t gotten worse since last year.
Biden himself, talking to reporters later that day, joked that doctors “think I look too young.” That’s a matter of opinion, but while nobody who’s watched the increasingly frail president walk any distance would describe him as “active” or “robust,” he doesn’t seem to be in much worse physical shape than you’d expect at his age. There’s an elephant in the room, though, and it’s an elephant that O’Connor (and apparently Walter Reed) carefully didn’t look at — Biden’s mental fitness.
Voters Doubt Biden’s Mental Capacity
The White House admits that Biden’s checkup didn’t include a cognitive exam, and it’s his mental condition that’s worrying voters. FDR managed to serve as president despite being in a wheelchair, so Biden’s stiff gait isn’t a big concern, but his increasingly frequent memory lapses and incoherent statements have voters concerned.
In fact, they’ve been concerned for years — as early as November 2021 a majority of voters said they had doubts about his mental fitness. Those doubts have likely grown significantly after Special Counsel Robert Hur’s February 8 report said Biden’s memory has “significant limitations,” including an apparent inability to remember when he was vice president. Biden is reacting with increasing anger whenever anyone questions his mental competence, but unless he gets a cognitive evaluation, those questions are going to keep coming.
Copyright 2024, RightWing.org
