Talking Points Memo media has been giving great play to McCain's recent confusion during an interview for a Spanish language radio station in Miami. After some general questions, the interviewer asked about events in Venezuela and Bolivia before shifting to Spain and whether McCain would meet the Spanish PM Zapatero at the White House. Senator McCain misses the shift to McCain and continues to discuss Latin American countries hostile to American interests. When reminded that the topic was about Spain, a hint of defensiveness was evident in his response as he refused to take in that information to give a better answer. Instead, he stuck to his topic of only meeting with leaders not hostile to American interests.
This is being covered with a degree of glee over on TPM. I decided to give it a listen to see what the fuss was about. After listening to the interview, I came away simultaneously sad and alarmed. With the meltdown in the markets, this story is fading away without much analysis. Nevertheless, an important point must be raised.
First on a personal note, I have an aging mother with ever increasing senile dementia. Now that it has gotten worse, it is plain for all to see as her short term memory is not good and her ability to follow conversations decreases. She can't follow shifts in topics and continues to discuss past topics after others have moved on. My father, who died three years ago just shy of 95 did not have this problem. Nevertheless, the residence where he lived for the last years had plenty of people with dementia up to late stage Alzheimer's. As some of these folks were family friends, I spent time visiting with them as well while also visiting with my father. I am not looking forward to getting old but it beats the alternative and I only hope that I can keep my marbles until the end like my father.
This brings me to the Spanish language interview. You can listen to the soundtrack here.
I recognized the signs immediately of the inability to notice a topic change, the attempt to compensate by becoming vague and the defensiveness that comes when the interviewer pursued it further. TPM misses that this is a potential symptom of senile dementia. I take no joy in putting this out here and do not write this with any sense of glee that seems present over at TPM. I guess it's just too close for comfort.
I don't write diaries on DKos and prefer to occasionally comment and recommend other's good diaries and comments. Nevertheless, this point is too important to let go by. We need to elect a leader who resumes making valid decisions -- especially in the realm of international relations -- to prevent boneheaded acts such as the "Axis of Evil" speech that destroyed a possible rapprochement with Iran or the obvious Iraq war.
Despite its slightly rightward tilt that sometimes requires filtration, I greatly enjoy strategic analyses that come from a think tank called "Stratfor". I find George Friedman's analyses usually brilliant and wonder if he has any relation to Tom Friedman. Because of the campaign season, a major strategic shift of a resurgent Russia is not being covered much in the media. The conflict in Georgia signaled this change. With our short hairs caught in Iraq and Russia being flush with new wealth from oil revenues, the strategic field is changing in ways that make a terrorist threat seem quaint by comparison. Please read about the Medvedev Doctrine and what Russia's Resurgence means.
In the face of this changing world scene let's have a quick quote on senile dementia:
[Senile dementia's] onset is slow, over years rather than months. Short-term memory is affected first - person occasionally forgets what happened hours or minutes ago, and has difficulty following conversations and trains of thought, or making sense of what he or she sees or reads.
There have already been jokes about the Al Qaida in Iran gaffe as the comprehension of the Sunni/Shiite split is repeatedly lost on Sen. McCain. Or referring to Czechoslovakia which has not existed for 15 years.
Imagine a serious international situation or even one domestically in the financial markets where there are many new variables and quickly changing events. Then imagine a leader unable to assemble these new variables to form a cohesive reactive strategy with them often involving Game Theory. Instead, this leader becomes angry, dogmatic and defensive and shuts down the already shaky ability to incorporate new information. Add to this situation a Vice President with no shortage of ambition but little more experience than a PTA president who has already mentioned the possible need to go to war with Russia to protect Georgia which is mistakenly identified as a member of NATO.
I really would like to grow old enjoying my yet unborn grandchildren and not have any event approximating the Cuban Missile Crisis be played wrongly and we all go up in smoke. With Russian bombers and ships making ports of call in Venezuela in retaliation for our venturing into the Black Sea and Georgia, the resurgent Russia makes a case for an approach that is neither reckless nor impulsive.
This election is more important than about lipstick and the choice is stark.
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