As I was pondering our collective close to 2024, I contemplated the year\u2019s most significant stories\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026the November election\u2026 the House hearings on antisemitism that triggered 2 Ivy League president resignations\u2026 the campus protests\u2026 Bill Belichick parting ways with New England\u2026 the partial collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore\u2026 the total solar eclipse\u2026 the emergence of Caitlin Clark\u2026 Trump shot\u2026 hurricanes Helene and Milton making their presence known\u2026The Eras Tour end\u2026 Big Lots, Joann (Fabrics), Party City, Red Lobster, Spirit Airlines, TGIFridays, True Value and Tupperware filing for bankruptcy\u2026 Shannen Doherty, Teri Garr, James Earl Jones, Joe Lieberman, Willie Mays, Liam Payne, Pete Rose, OJ Simpson, Jerry West and more passing away\u2026 Israel and Hamas, Ukraine and Russia (and also more) still fighting\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, from my limited vantage point, my sense is there is a bigger story embedded in the year that was. And I must admit, when take one was written, our focus was far too narrow. We originally began with a sensitive but reasonable story about the Executive Office of the President. It wasn\u2019t about age nor clearly a stutter. One of the biggest stories of 2024 was the cover up of the mental decline of our sitting President. As recently reported by The Wall Street Journal, <\/em>based on their interviews with nearly 50 people who either participated in or had direct knowledge of White House operations\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026 Presidents always have gatekeepers. But in Biden\u2019s case, the walls around him were higher and the controls greater, according to Democratic lawmakers, donors and aides who worked for Biden and other administrations. There were limits over who Biden spoke with, limits on what they said to him and limits around the sources of information he consumed. Throughout his presidency, a small group of aides stuck close to Biden to assist him, especially when traveling or speaking to the public. \u2018They body him to such a high degree,\u2019 a person who witnessed it said, adding that the \u2018hand holding\u2019 is unlike anything other recent presidents have had\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026The president\u2019s slide has been hard to overlook. While preparing last year for his interview with Robert K. Hur, the special counsel who investigated Biden\u2019s handling of classified documents, the president couldn\u2019t recall lines that his team discussed with him. At events, aides often repeated instructions to him, such as where to enter or exit a stage, that would be obvious to the average person\u2026 The strategies to protect Biden largely worked\u2014until June 27, when Biden stood on an Atlanta debate stage with Trump, searching for words and unable to complete his thoughts on live television\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden, staffed with advisers since he became a senator at age 30, came to the White House with a small team of fiercely loyal, long-serving aides who knew him and Washington so well that they could be particularly effective proxies. They didn\u2019t tolerate criticism of Biden\u2019s performance or broader dissent within the Democratic Party\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Interactions between Biden and many of his cabinet members were relatively infrequent and often tightly scripted\u2026 Over four years, Biden held nine full cabinet meetings\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the fall of 2023, Biden faced a major test when Hur, the special counsel, wanted to interview him\u2026 The actual interview didn\u2019t go well. Transcripts showed multiple blunders, including that Biden didn\u2019t initially recall that in prep sessions he had been shown his own handwritten memo arguing against a surge of troops in Afghanistan. The report\u2014one of just a few lengthy interviews with Biden over the past four years\u2014concluded with a recommendation that Biden not be prosecuted for having classified documents in his home because a jury was likely to view him as a \u2018sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n There was indeed some level of deception, a deception that prompts the following reasonable, respectful questions: why is Pres. Biden still President? Why is this only coming out now? And who covered up for him? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But as I\u2019ve thought a little longer, I think the above focus is too narrow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent weeks we also became aware that Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX, age 81) hasn\u2019t been present in Congress since July. Instead she\u2019s been residing in an assisted living facility in Fort Worth. Upon investigation, a family member responded that Granger has been \u201chaving some dementia issues late in the year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So again, we ask: why is Rep. Granger still in the House? Why is this only coming out now? And who covered up for her?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s clear the deception isn\u2019t limited to a singular party, although sometimes, that\u2019s hard for us to admit. It\u2019s also clear, no less, that each party’s denial leads to a bigger question: is it any wonder we have collectively lost significant respect in the parties? With all due respect, they covered up the decline of Pres. Biden, Rep. Granger, and possibly more. The media was also complicit. Each tells us only what they want us to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s to a better 2025. Hoping for increased honesty from all in the year to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As I was pondering our collective close to 2024, I contemplated the year\u2019s most significant stories\u2026 \u2026the November election\u2026 the House hearings on antisemitism that triggered 2 Ivy League president resignations\u2026 the campus protests\u2026 Bill Belichick parting ways with New England\u2026 the partial collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore\u2026 the total solar … <\/p>\n