ghost town studio | gts magazine

Alzheimer's strikes the Vice President

by Jason Meredith | October 13, 2004

Dick Cheney, VP of the United States and second most powerful man in the world has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, a disorder that causes the gradual loss of brain cells.

On the televised Vice Presidential Debate on October 5th Mr. Cheney told his opponent, Senator John Edwards (NC, D), "The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight." Sadly, this was not true.

Cheney / Edwards Timeline:

Feb. 1, 2001, the vice president thanked Edwards by name at a Senate prayer breakfast and sat beside him during the event.

April 8, 2001, Cheney and Edwards shook hands when they met off-camera during a taping of NBC's "Meet the Press," moderator Tim Russert said Wednesday on "Today."

Jan. 8, 2003, the two met when the first-term North Carolina senator accompanied Elizabeth Dole to her swearing-in by Cheney as a North Carolina senator, Edwards aides also said. After the debate was over a police escort rushed Mr. Cheney to his family doctor for testing. After several hours in a secured area of Cleveland City Hospital doctors confirmed the unfortunate news that Dick Cheney had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

President George W. Bush announced "This is a bad day for our nation... it's not good. Dick was a good man, and I'm going to miss him" After aids explained what Alzheimer's was to the President he responded with "Oh, I just found out he's not going to die, just his brain. That's not nearly as bad."

The White House is no stranger to Alzheimer's; President Ronald Reagan had the disease during the last 18 months he was in office.

Dick Cheney's other health issue are his history of heart problems that started in 1978. He suffered his first of four heart attacks when he was 37-year old. His last heart attack was just a few weeks after the 2000 presidential election. In a recent poll, 97% of likely voters were shocked to learn that Mr. Cheney had a heart at all.