Ronald Reagan: Temporary Transfer of Power

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	The Health and Medical History of President
	Ronald Reagan: Temporary Transfer of Power

colon cancer

A 1984 proctoscopic examination disclosed a small polyp in Reagan's colon. Biopsy showed it was benign. In March 1985, another polyp was found, as were trace amounts of blood in his stool. A change in Reagan's diet eliminated the blood. He underwent endoscopic removal of the polyp and colonoscopy on July 12, 1985, at Bethesda Naval Medical Center. Colonoscopy disclosed a second, more dangerous tumor -- a villous adenoma -- that could only be removed by surgery. [1e]

Although Nancy Reagan apparently preferred to delay surgery until the following week on the advice of her astrologer, Reagan preferred to have the surgery the next day -- to avoid having to repeat the colonic preparation [1f]

The operation lasted 2 hours and 53 minutes. The right-sided portion of Reagan's colon was removed -- about 2 feet of length. Exploration of other abdominal structures found no spread of the cancer. The tumor was ultimately classified as a "Duke's B," meaning it had invaded the muscle of the colon, but was confined to the bowel wall [1g] Post-operatively, one of the surgeons remarked about the then-74-year-old President: "This man has the insides of a forty year old" [7g]. Reagan left the hospital on July 20 [17].

As a result of the surgery, Reagan transferred Presidential power to Vice President Bush for 7 hours and 50 minutes [1h]. It is often written that Reagan invoked section 3 of the 25th Amendment to make this transfer, but he did not explicitly invoke the Amendment [1i].

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With the letter below, Reagan temporarily transferred Presidential power to Vice President George H.W. Bush on July 13, 1985. Bush held power from 11:28 a.m. until 7:22 p.m. that day. [17]

July 13, 1985 Dear Mr. President: (Dear Mr. Speaker:)
I am about to undergo surgery during which time I will be briefly and temporarily incapable of discharging the Constitutional powers and duties of the Office of the President of the United States.
After consultation with my Counsel and the Attorney General, I am mindful of the provisions of Section 3 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and of the uncertainties of its application to such brief and temporary periods of incapacity. I do not believe that the drafters of this Amendment intended its application to situations such as the instant one.
Nevertheless, consistent with my long-standing arrangement with Vice President George Bush, and not intending to set a precedent binding anyone privileged to hold this Office in the future, I have determined and it is my intention and direction that Vice President George Bush shall discharge those powers and duties in my stead commencing with the administration of anesthesia to me in this instance.
I shall advise you and the Vice President when I determine that I am able to resume the discharge of the Constitutional powers and duties of this Office.
May God bless this Nation and us all.
Sincerely,
Ronald Reagan

Reagan reasserted power with the following letter:

July 13, 1985
Dear Mr. President: (Dear Mr. Speaker:)
Following up on my letter to you of this date, please be advised I am able to resume the discharge of the Constitutional powers and duties of the Office of the President of the United States. I have informed the Vice President of my determination and my resumption of those powers and duties.
Sincerely,
Ronald Reagan

Identical copies of both letters were sent to Strom Thurmond, President pro tempore of the Senate, and Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr., Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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Abrams, Herbert L. "The President Has Been Shot": Confusion, Disability, and the 25th Amendment in the Aftermath of the Attempted Assassination of Ronald Reagan. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1992. ISBN 0-393-03042-3 @ Amazon [a] pp. 59-60 [b] p. 74 [c] p. 64 [d] pp. 54-74 [e] pp. 197-198 [f] p. 198 [g] p. 202 [h] p. 204 [i] pp. 199-201
Altman, Lawrence K. Reagan vows to resign if doctor in White House finds him unfit. New York Times. 11 June 1980; A1, A28.
All the information from this article is not yet posted here.
Anonymous. Reagan to be honored with state funeral. Associated Press / Chicago Tribune. 6 June 2004, 6:57 CDT.
Available on the web at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/bal-funeral0606,1,2596318.story
Anonymous. Reagan legacy includes raising awareness of several diseases. Associated Press / CNN. 8 June 2004, 1:49 pm EDT.
Available on the web at: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/06/05/reagan.health.ap
Beahrs, Oliver H. The medical history of Ronald Reagan. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 1994; 178: 86-96. Pubmed.
Dr. Zebra has not checked the correspondence about this article that appeared as J Am Coll Surg. 1994 Dec;179(6):763; author reply 763-4 (Pubmed 7952492 and 7952493).
Boller, Paul F. Jr. Presidential Anecdotes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. ISBN 0-19-502915-1 @ Amazon [a] p. 354
Bumgarner, John R. The Health of the Presidents: The 41 United States Presidents Through 1993 from a Physician's Point of View. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland & Company, 1994. ISBN 0-89950-956-8 @ Amazon [a] p. 281 [b] pp. 281-282 [c] p. 282 [d] pp. 282-283 [e] p. 283 [f] p. 282, citing page 318 of Donald Regan's book For the Record. [g] p. 285
Devotes one chapter to each President, through Clinton. Written for the layperson, well-referenced, with areas of speculation clearly identified, Dr. Zebra depends heavily on this book. Dr. Bumgarner survived the Bataan Death March and has written an unforgettable book casting a physician's eye on that experience.
Cannon, Lou. Actor, Governor, President, Icon. Washington Post. 6 June 2004, page A1.
Deaver, Michael. [Interview]. Charlie Rose Show. KQED-TV, San Francisco, 14 June 2004.
Heimel, Cynthia. Combover Congress: how can we trust our leaders to manage impeachment when they can't even manage their hair?. Salon.com. Feb. 3, 1999.
Caveat emptor: no written source for these statements is known to Dr. Zebra. Available on the web at: http://www.salon.com/news/1999/02/03newsb.html
MacMahon, Edward B. and Curry, Leonard. Medical Cover-Ups in the White House. Washington, DC: Farragut, 1987. ISBN 0-918535-01-8 @ Amazon
Page, Susan. Time-tested formulas suggest both Bush and Kerry will win on Nov. 2. USA Today. June 23, 2004.
Accessed through usatoday.com: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-06-23-bush-kerry-cover_x.htm
Pekkanen, John. The saving of the President. Washingtonian Magazine. August 1981; 113ff.
A fascinating moment-by-moment chronology of the events in the George Washington University Emergency Room. An account from Dr. Wesley Price appears on p. 116 of the same issue.
Sanchez, Rene. Reagan recovering at hospital after surgery. Washington Post. 14 January 2001, page A2.
Reynolds, John. How healthy is Reagan?. U.S. News and World Report. 8 Dec. 1980; pages 25-26.
An interview with Dr. Reynolds
Web page: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/Politics/reagan_letter.html
(Ronald Reagan's letter to the American people concerning his diagnosis of Alzheimer disease)
Web page: http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1985/71385b.htm
(Letter to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House on the Discharge of the President's Powers and Duties During His Surgery)
This letter is deposited in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The online version of the letter has been incorrectly annotated by the Library staff to underplay the seriousness of the condition Reagan had. The annotation says the operation was to remove a polyp, when it was actually to remove a malignant cancer well past the polyp stage.
Web page: http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1985/71385c.htm
(Letter to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House on the President's Resumption of His Powers and Duties Following Surgery)
Zucker, Howard. Personal communication. Baltimore, Maryland. circa 1987.
Zucker was in the emergency room at GW that day.
The Ronald Reagan web page at the White House.
(42 matches when checked in November 2003)

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