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Hope Lindsay's avatar

" I tend to think he was just not mentally fit enough to understand the problem and he was surrounded by corrupt advisors." BINGO! I think that is a key modus operandi of the Republican party. They choose a showman, a popular figure to be president, then pull strings behind him. Although George HW Bush seemed to try to be fair, just look at little Bush, Trump et al. They were and are among the least brightest men at the helm. Each had cabinets that just did awful things. Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's shortly after his term ended.

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Ally House (Oregon)'s avatar

And was surely suffering with it during his administration.

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Rob Boyte (Miami Beach)'s avatar

Nancy Reagan, the de-facto first female president.

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Hope Lindsay's avatar

Oh, don't forget Eleanor Roosevelt. She was the person who convinced FDR of policy many times. She was an avid social activist and humanitarian, while he was a good ol' boy and a ladies' man. But, she made him see the liberal light, (and sometimes she leveraged his unfaithfulness!)

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Peter Burnett's avatar

Thank you for remembering this great human being!

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Barbara D. Reed's avatar

There's a great 3 part biography of Eleanor by Blanche Wiesen Cook. simple title-"Eleanor Roosevelt." It covers her entire life. Well worth the read.

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Peter Burnett's avatar

Thank you.

I watched her several times on TV in the 1950s. I don't recall the content of those programs, only that she made a strong positive impression on me. A lasting impression.

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Hope Lindsay's avatar

Thank you! It looks very good.

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Ally House (Oregon)'s avatar

An argument could be made for Edith Wilson, after Woodrow Wilson had his stroke.

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Hope Lindsay's avatar

Nancy, ruling by astrology!

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Hope Lindsay's avatar

Yes! I remember how often he said, "I can't remember" when questioned about the Iran-Contra affair.

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David Holzman's avatar

My aunt saw the Alzheimer's while Reagan was still president.

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JDinTX's avatar

He was also a greedy worm, I see it every day in memory care. Some people may be demented but they were evil before. I’d bet the farm.

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J L Graham's avatar

I vaguely recall an article in the NYT during Reagan's presidency titled "What the President Didn't Know, and When He Didn't know it" detailing some fairly disturbing examples of Reagan being pretty out of it, but no one seemed to care, and his faux-folksy persona seemed to cover a multitude of deficits.

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