The President Has Been Shot: Confusion, Disability, and the 25th Ammendment in the Aftermath of the Attempted Assassination of Ronald Reagan

A medical doctor and political official reports on the graveness of President Reagan's injuries after his assassination attempt and reveals shocking information on the state of affairs in Washington after the president was disabled.

When President Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr., in March 1981, the executive branch failed to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would have made Vice-President George Bush the acting president until Reagan could resume his duties. This compelling report documents the severity of the chief executive's injury, which the White House concealed from the public. Abrams, a Stanford University medical school professor, dramatically depicts the dangerous, sometimes farcical confusion in the aftermath of the shooting. James Baker, Edwin Meese and Michael Deaver ran the White House; "they were the president," quips Abrams. While Soviet troops seemed poised to invade Poland, Secretary of State Alexander Haig and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger jockeyed for power and squabbled over the alert status of U.S. forces worldwide. In a disturbing book that sounds an important warning, Abrams proposes guidelines for swift, effective action when a president is incapacitated. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From a radiologist attached to both the Stanford Univ. School of Medicine and the Center for International Security and Arms Control--a provocative analysis of the constitutional problems presented by John Hinckley's March 30, 1981, attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan. Abrams relates the story of Hinckley's drift into homicidal madness, underscoring how easily an apparently ordinary middle- class citizen like Hinckley can develop into a potential assassin. But what the author finds even more alarming is the confused and inadequate response of Reagan Administration officials to the shooting and to the requirements of the 25th Amendment regarding transfer of presidential power (e.g., Secretary of State Alexander Haig's erroneous announcement that he was to act as President)--and how, in their zeal to project the image of a strong President, these officials may have compounded Reagan's medical condition by having him accept visitors prematurely. Indeed, Abrams suggests that Reagan's aides, for purely political reasons, may have endangered the national security by failing to take advantage of the mechanisms offered by the 25th Amendment. For dealing with future similar crises, the author offers policy suggestions that take into account situations ranging from assassination attempts to the President's undergoing anesthesia during an operation. He suggests upgrading the role of the White House physician and seeking a more proper balance between physician-patient confidentiality, on one hand, and the national interest, on the other. An articulate and insightful examination of a problem with unlimited downside potential. (Photographs, drawings--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

An effective means of transferring presidential authority because of assassination or illness has eluded the U.S. government for 200 years. Abrams uses the confrontations between Chief of Staff Alexander Haig and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger following the 1981 attempt on President Reagan's life to present a strong case for stricter adherence to the 25th amendment, which determines presidential succession. Authority should have been transferred to Vice President George Bush because Reagan, who initially had been in danger of dying, was totally incapacitated for several months. Fear of alarming the public and possibly encouraging a Soviet military response to the Solidarity uprising in Poland were the reasons given by James Baker, Edwin Meese, and Michael Deaver for not invoking the 25th amendment. Despite an uneven style that at times becomes prosaic, Abrams convincingly advocates the immediate use of this amendment and the careful selection of vice presidents. Recommended for current affairs collections.
- Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp . Lib., King of Prussia, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.