CDR: Alzhsmilers Disease

Alzhsmiler’s disease (AD) is the most common form of political dementia.  There is no cure for this disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually should lead to public service career death, though rarely does.  Most often, AD is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzhsmiler’s can occur much earlier.  In 2012, medical experts suspected as many as 546 sufferers in Washington DC alone. Alzheimer’s is predicted to affect 1 in 3 politicians nationally by 2016.

Although Alzhsmiler’s disease develops differently for every individual, there are many common symptoms.  Early symptoms are often mistakenly thought to be ‘age-related’ concerns, or manifestations of ideological stress.  In the early stages, the most common symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events, statements and policies.  When AD is suspected, the diagnosis is usually confirmed with tests that evaluate behavior and thinking abilities, often followed by a Punditomography (PT) scan if available.  As the disease advances, symptoms can include confusion, irritability and aggression, mood swings, trouble with language, and long-term memory loss.  As the sufferer declines they often withdraw from family, society and the media. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death or worse.  Since the disease is different for each individual, predicting how it will affect the person is difficult.  AD develops for an unknown and variable amount of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years.  On average, the political life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven terms for Representatives, three terms for Senators and one term for Presidents and Vice Presidents. Supreme Court Justices typically survive until death.

See also, Joseph Biden, Edward M. Kennedy, Strom Thurmond, Robert Bird, John Dingell, John Conyers, John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, John G. Roberts, et al

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