# If he wants to stay in the race, should Biden submit to a neurologist exam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 30, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540 "2024-06-30T21:14:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/1 "2024-06-30T21:14:41Z")
I was admittedly stunned at what I saw last Thursday. He has to do something to assure people that his decline isn’t the sign of something much more serious than just normal aging. If he has a really big problem, then he can do all of us a favor and step aside. If he is diagnosed with nothing serious, then that might help keep the undecideds and independents in play, as well as Dems who are a little shellshocked. If he stays in, I’m voting for him. But I’m not sure how he puts this question about cognitive decline to rest. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/2 "2024-06-30T21:22:10Z")
Such a test might be good from a mental and job-performance standpoint, but politically, it’s not likely to help him. If he passes it, people are just going to accuse him of doctor-shopping for a favorable result. And if he flunks it, then the storm breaks loose and everyone demands him to step aside. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/3 "2024-06-30T21:24:37Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > If he passes it, people are just going to accuse him of doctor-shopping for a favorable result. And if he flunks it, then the storm breaks loose and everyone demands him to step aside. MAGA will say what they say regardless of what he does. And if he flunks it, and doctors identify a serious issue…isn’t it better to know now so he can drop out now? If he’s in early stages of Alzheimers or Dementia, it won’t get better over the next four years. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/4 "2024-06-30T21:37:10Z")
> [@survinga](#): > > If he’s in early stages of Alzheimers or Dementia, it won’t get better over the next four years. That’s a pretty big and completely baseless “if”. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/5 "2024-06-30T21:39:03Z")
Have Trump and Biden be examined by a doctor chosen by the other man. Foolproof! ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/6 "2024-06-30T21:44:49Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > That’s a pretty big and completely baseless “if”. No, it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/7 "2024-06-30T21:45:49Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Have Trump and Biden be examined by a doctor chosen by the other man. Foolproof! Not sure I’d do it that way. But maybe a set of doctors that both men can agree to, with a guarantee that results are made public. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/8 "2024-06-30T21:46:43Z")
Yes it is. You’re diagnosing the man with a serious and terminal neurological problem because he had a bad debate while he was nursing a cold and on Nyquil. That’s a ridiculous leap of logic. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/9 "2024-06-30T21:51:12Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > on Nyquil That seems like a bad idea pre-debate. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/10 "2024-06-30T21:53:57Z")
Debating while sick when you’re 81 years old isn’t a great idea in the first place, but I guess he decided it was better than dropping out. I don’t know that he was on Nyquil. Could’ve been something else. But cold + cold medicine = bad debate performance is a much likelier explanation than irreversible neurological illness. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/11 "2024-06-30T21:58:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You’re diagnosing the man with a serious and terminal neurological problem because he had a bad debate while he was nursing a cold and on Nyquil. I didn’t diagnose anything. I want a doctor to examine him and assure us this is not a problem. The “head cold” excuse is ridiculous. That’s not why he was completely incoherent the other night. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/12 "2024-06-30T22:00:23Z")
> [@survinga](#): > > The “head cold” excuse is ridiculous. That’s not why he was completely incoherent the other night. How do you know it isn’t? At any rate, he has advisors and staff members and people who are around him all the time, who have a lot better idea what kind of neurological shape he’s in than people who watched him for a short while on TV. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/13 "2024-06-30T22:02:58Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > At any rate, he has advisors and staff members and people who are around him all the time, who have a lot better idea what kind of neurological shape he’s in than people who watched him for a short while on TV. He needs to do something to put this concern to rest with the voters… ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/14 "2024-06-30T22:05:38Z")
> [@survinga](#): > > The “head cold” excuse is ridiculous. That’s not why he was completely incoherent the other night. I didn’t hear him sound “completely incoherant”, and a head cold sounds completely plausible to me based on experience. Do you have any medical training that leads you to believe that he is in the early stages of dementia or Alzheimer’s? If not, why should someone believe you over the doctors whose job it is to monitor his health? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/15 "2024-06-30T22:18:30Z")
> [@survinga](#): > > The “head cold” excuse is ridiculous. How is “head cold” ridiculous but “neurological disorder” isn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/16 "2024-06-30T22:23:04Z")
Assume Biden does have some kind of neurological issue, or the beginning stages of one. How long could the White House keep that quiet? They’d be fools to try. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/17 "2024-06-30T22:28:24Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Assume Biden does have some kind of neurological issue Why? Because he had a bad debate with Trump? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/18 "2024-06-30T22:32:01Z")
You want both of them to take these tests, right? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/19 "2024-06-30T22:34:05Z")
**Moderating** : Please don’t try to hijack the thread. This one is not about Trump. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540/20 "2024-06-30T22:40:59Z")
I have to concur that this is quite a silly suggestion. Biden had a bad debate, ostensibly because he had a cold. End of story. I can personally vouch for the fact that a bad cold produces cognitive impairment. Seriously. It’s more than just not feeling well. The brain actually works a little differently. I can sometimes get really creative when I have a cold, perhaps in some strange way because other cognitive functions are impaired. The effects are subtle but interesting (and it’s from the cold, not from medications). But I know I would definitely suck at debating in that condition. EDIT: edited out the part about Trump. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-he-wants-to-stay-in-the-race-should-biden-submit-to-a-neurologist-exam/1003540.md?page=2)