Oldest President, Ever. . . .

. . . . new light on persistent questions about Mr. Reagan's mental state as President, questions rekindled by the disclosure, in November 1994, that he had Alzheimer's. Nearly 70 when he took office in 1981, Mr. Reagan became the oldest President, and throughout his two terms, a series of well-publicized memory lapses and a casual executive style had provoked uncertainty -- even ridicule -- about his mental competence.

Just when the Alzheimer's began can never be known. But while the line between mere forgetfulness and the beginning of Alzheimer's can be fuzzy, a matter of gradation, Mr. Reagan's four main White House doctors say they saw no evidence that he had crossed it as President. They saw and spoke with him daily in the White House, they said, and beyond the natural failings of age never found his memory, reasoning or judgment to be significantly impaired.

Mr. Reagan ''absolutely'' did not ''show any signs of dementia or Alzheimer's,'' said Dr. John E. Hutton Jr., who cared for him from 1984 until the end of his Presidency and remains a close family friend. Extensive mental-status tests did not indicate evidence of Alzheimer's until 1993, more than four years after Mr. Reagan left office, Dr. Hutton said. . . .

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Perhaps ~~ but I remember *very clearly* him slipping off onto the Ventura highway during the 1984 debate, and had to be called on it by the moderator. I also remember *very clearly* the look of pain and confusion when he was "brought back." I've since seen it on my patients' faces, as well as my mother's the year before she died. The year she thought, among other things, that her grand children were trying to poison her.

Need I mention that Obama picked a Veep he felt would be ready on Day One to be President. Sarah Palin? Not on day one, maybe *never*. . . .