I'm worried about *'s competence to be in office

[LiberalEsto]

His alcoholism is a disease and needs to be treated as such, not as a symptom of moral weakness. (We have plenty of other indicators of his moral weaknesses.) Yes, he's in denial and yes, it looks like he needs treatment.

But in the larger picture, is such a man, whose already-limited faculties may be further impaired by alcohol abuse, competent to make decisions about the use of nuclear weapons, military secrets, foreign policy, or domestic policy?

Do we want his finger on the nuclear trigger? This question was asked in 1964 when Barry Goldwater ran for president, and though I was a kid at the time, I believe it frightened the voting public. When Reagan first ran, one of my biggest fears was whether this man with his right-wing ideology might gain control over our nation's nuclear weaponry. (Fortunately, he seemed to sleep through much of his presidency.)

Now we have a president, whose office was attained twice despite serious issues of election fraud, and who exhibits signs of mental impairment in his public speaking and his behavior.

And we have a vice-president who has had at least 4 reported heart attacks, wears an internal heart pumping device, and is probably not physically fit to assume the presidency.

The line of succession calls for the Speaker of the House to assume the office of president if neither the current president not vice president are able to serve. Is Dennis Hastert prepared to take on this office if needed? How can we be assured of that?

And by what mechanism can B*sh be removed from office for mental incompetency and/or impairment? Does such a mechanism exist?

Political novelist Fletcher Knebel, who co-authored "Seven Days in May," explored precisely this issue of presidential impairment in his 1965 fiction book, "Night of Camp David". No mechanism for presidential removal for psychological reasons existed at the time the book was written, and I'm not sure if such a mechanism exists, today.

The possibilities surrounding B*sh's competency or lack thereof frighten me. I hope our Democratic Party leadership is aware of this and is looking into what might be done.

[Angry Girl]

1. NOW you're worried????? What took so long? n/t

[nini]

2. I was thinking the same thing

:D

[LiberalEsto]

4. I've been worried about him since he first ran, BUT

it looks like drastic action has to be taken pretty darned soon

[PuraVidaDreamin]

3. Ha! He needs a breathalizer before he can push the button!

on second thought- not so funny

[sweetheart]

5. He's turning in to Yeltsin

And become a drunken dictator screwing his country in to the ground in
the name of preserving the dignity of the old empire; drunk and
incompetent for 8 years on public pay, its an impressive fraud that
americans are, as a culture, too stupid to prevent or even notice.

[donheld]

6. Yes we are in DEEP shit

We need millions in the streets to fight what's going on.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

7. What is the criteria

for declaring him alcoholic? And who can declare it, and to what effect? And if he is decided to be under the influence, then what? What a mess.

This impairment issue really should be addressed... not just for Bush, but for every president. There needs to be protocol established. Is there, I wonder?

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Yes there is a mechanism

the 25th ammendment

[leftofthedial]

9. where have you been for the last seven years?

(it was obvious from the moment rumors started that he would run that he was incompetent)

[LiberalEsto]

10. There's no need to be rude

I was against B*sh and his father and Ray-gun from the get-go, voted and campaigned for their opponents, and protested their policies.

I'm saying things seem to have reached a crisis point in which some action may need to be taken by constitutional means to immediately remove this man from office for the world's safety and placed in a treatment program.

I'd prefer to see Al Gore sworn in as the legitimate president, but since that doesn't look possible, the line of succession should be invoked.

[leftofthedial]

11. Sorry. I didn't mean it rudely.

But just now "beginning to worry" shows more than a little disconnect from reality.

The turd has been an incompetent buffoon his entire life and it was clear from the moment he became nationally known.