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Ethical Dilemmas of the President's Physician

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Robert S. Robins  and
Henry Rothschild
Robert S. Robins
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science Tulane University New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
Henry Rothschild
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine Louisiana State University Medical Center New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
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Extract

During the 1984 presidential campaign, questions were raised concerning President Reagan's cognitive integrity in the televised debates. He hesitated before answering questions, appeared to lack attentiveness, and had difficulty remembering and finding words to accurately express his thoughts. These signs, sometimes indicative of early dementia, were reportedly intensified during the 1987 Reykjavik Conference, at which time the President was criticized by James Reston–admittedly an unsympathetic critic–the New York Times columnist. According to Reston, there may be “a human problem at the top of the government [that] … will have to be addressed with uttermost sympathy and care” (December 21, 1986). These questions were again raised by the Iran-Contra affair. For the President of the United States to have even a hint of cognitive dysfunction carries profound implications.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 7 , Issue 1: Special Issue: Medicine and Political Behavior , August 1988 , pp. 3 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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