Worries about the health of the President of the United States aren't a new thing for Americans, or for that matter, for the rest of the world. POTUS is, after all, almost certainly the most powerful man on the planet. He's the commander-in-chief of our armed forces, which, even after years of Democrat neglect and abuse, are still the most dominant single military forces since Europe trembled under the tramp of the legions of Rome. The president has the authority to unleash nuclear weapons. His administration controls all of the executive functions of the national government, from border security to diplomacy to international trade relationships.
It's a big job. It's one of the most important jobs on the planet, and we want the person sitting there in the Oval Office to be up to the task.
On Saturday morning, we covered the latest on President Trump's health, and the news was good:
Read More: Sorry, Dems: President Trump Is in Great Health
In that report, we learned:
President Trump continues to demonstrate excellent overall health. His cardiac age - a validated measure of cardiovascular vitality via ECG - was found to be approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age. He continues to maintain a demanding daily schedule without restriction.
Summary: President Donald J. Trump remains in exceptional health, exhibiting strong cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, and physical performance.
We weren't always so lucky. Some previous presidents have had serious health issues, and in some cases, those health issues were kept from the public. Here are just a few.
John F. Kennedy and his Addison's disease. JFK was not a healthy child, having suffered from asthma and scarlet fever. But while he was president, the greatest concern was his Addison's disease, a serious condition that can be fatal.
Addison’s disease is a chronic condition in which your adrenal glands don’t produce enough of the hormones cortisol and aldosterone.
Your adrenal glands, also known as suprarenal glands, are small, triangle-shaped glands that are located on top of each of your two kidneys. They’re a part of your endocrine system.
When Kennedy was diagnosed, at age 30, the condition was far more serious than today, given advances in endocrinology. Untreated, JFK's disease would have killed him within months; as it was, he took steroids for the condition for the rest of his life. Symptoms include fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, and more. This is a debilitating disease, but fortunately, replacement of the hormones can keep it under control.
William Howard Taft and his weight. President Taft was an impressive figure, of that we can have no doubt. He was 340 pounds of pure Republican, but that heft cost him. He reportedly had an immense appetite, was clinically obese, and while he served out his presidency, he died of complications of heart disease and high blood pressure, no doubt aggravated by or directly caused by his weight. An interesting side note: Taft was also the only person to ever serve as both President of the United States (1909-1913) and as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1921-1930).
Woodrow Wilson and his stroke. Wilson was rumored to be considering a run for a third term, but he suffered a stroke in October of 1919, less than a year after the end of the Great War. The stroke left him incapacitated, but the seriousness of his condition was kept quiet. First Lady Edith Wilson reportedly made what decisions that were made, which were nothing of great consequence.
Maybe because of Wilson's disappearance from public view, the Republican candidate, Warren G. Harding, won a convincing electoral victory in the 1920 election. Wilson left office, and in time opened a Washington, D.C., law office with a partner, former Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby. Wilson appeared in the office for one day before disappearing again. He died in February of 1924.
This case, especially the shadow presidency of Edith Wilson, leads us to our most recent example: Joe Biden.
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Joe Biden and his creeping dementia. Most of us who pay any attention to politics are aware of what happened with the "Autopen Joe" Biden presidency. While the exact nature of his mental and physical decline has not yet been released to the general public by way of a diagnosis, there can be no doubt that the man was incapacitated. Even in the 2020 campaign, he was largely kept from public view; wags dubbed his the "basement campaign," as the Biden people used the COVID-19 scare to keep the elderly candidate sequestered.
In the office, he rapidly grew worse. Aides had to put tape on the floor to show the ailing POTUS where to walk. In his few press availabilities, aides gave him cards with names, photographs, and pre-approved questions and answers, telling him which media figures to call on and how to reply to them. He showed many of the signs of advanced dementia: Sudden, unfounded fits of anger, trouble with finding the right words, and inappropriate physical gestures - although we should note that Biden had a long history of that last item.
His staff kept old Autopen Joe isolated, insulated, away from the public eye, until the one event he couldn't avoid: His presidential debate with the resurgent Donald Trump, which he botched so badly that the Democrats used a metaphorical huge Warner Brothers cartoon-styled crook to suddenly yank the ailing president out, stage left.
In the history of our republic, we've had good presidents and bad presidents. We've had healthy presidents and sickly ones. We should feel fortunate, at present, to have a president who is not only doggedly determined to do what we voted him in to do, but who is also, by all accounts, healthy enough to see all this through.
