Look, I've never been 78 years old and Joe Biden looks like a pretty physically fit guy for his age. It may be that the grueling schedule of a presidential candidate is far more taxing on an individual than we realize, and even more so for someone Mr. Biden's age.

But what he has said in more than a few examples recently gives me – and many others – cause to be concerned about the state of his mind.

He was in the U.S. Senate beginning in 1973 when Nixon was president. He was the vice president for eight years after that. He's run for president unsuccessfully several times and has been through personal tragedies.

Biden lost his first wife Neillia and their one-year-old daughter Amy in a horrible automobile accident in Delaware in November of 1972, when a tractor-trailer broadsided their station wagon. The grieving widower and father of four surviving children also had to face serious injuries to his sons, Beau and Hunter, during all of that.

In May of 2015, he stood by his 46-year-old son Beau as he passed away after being treated for cancer for months in Bethesda, Maryland. There are a lot of taxing, tough miles on this guy, even for being at 78.

Even young pop or rock stars have been known to greet a filled arena and tell them how great it is to be in Cleveland when they are actually in Cincinnati.

I've been on tour. The road can be a burden when you are on it long enough. Jackson Browne got it right in his song "The Load Out" when he said:

We've got to drive all night and do a show in Chicago..
..Or Detroit, I don't know
We do so many shows in a row
And these towns all look the same
We just pass the time in the hotel rooms
And wander 'round backstage
Till those lights come up and we hear that crowd
And we remember why we came

It's the same for touring musicians or comedians – or touring politicians.

Over the course of the last eight months, Biden has on several occasions been recorded during speeches and seems to have no idea which state he is in.

I've tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it is now time to consider whether or not former Vice President Biden is showing early signs of senility, dementia, Alzheimer's or some other affliction of one's mental capacity and predominantly in our senior citizens.

In speaking with other conservative bloggers and columnists over the phone, we agree: it's no longer something we should be poking fun at any longer.

Earlier this week in South Carolina, Biden was stumping on the campaign trail and said, "You're the ones who sent Barack Obama the presidency and I have a simple proposition here. I'm here to ask you for your help. Where I come from you don't get far unless you ask. My name is Joe Biden and I'm a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate. Look me over. If you like what you see, help me out. If not, vote for the other Biden. Give me a look through okay?"

Mr. Biden though is not running for U.S. Senate and hasn't had to since 2008, 12 years ago. And there is obviously no other "Biden" running in the race for president, or senate for that matter.

Last week, Biden was the target of the New York Times with yet another one of their "anonymous sources" who allegedly told them that Biden told a group of prominent African-American mayors that "...the problem is that black parents can't read and write."

Both Biden and the Times have each been caught in humiliating lies over the years, so I have no idea if this actually took place or not. But, as Biden faced this public outrage, he suddenly came up with an anecdotal story of himself, claiming that he was once arrested in South Africa while protesting apartheid and in hopes of meeting with Nelson Mandela in Soweto on February 11, 1990. It was debunked as another lie almost as soon as the last word left his mouth.

You know what I always say when a liberal gives an anecdotal story to qualify themselves or their political position on an issue? Assume it's an untruth and investigate it.

Biden's lies in the past were far more carefully crafted and harder to correct but the 2020 version has lost his fastball. Maybe he'll next tell us about the time he rode with John Brown or funded the arms for Nat Turner?

Last night may have been the greatest example of Biden's mental incapacity to articulate or remember facts, which is a must for a U.S. president. During the debate, Biden, while attacking Bernie Sanders' Second Amendment position, claimed that 150 million American people had been killed by gun violence since 2007.

Umm, that's almost one in every two Americans dead. An all-out nuclear war might be capable of this.

No, these increasingly frequent utterances of nonsense should be of great concern to his family, to his staff, his supporters and to anyone with a heart. I never cared for Biden in office at any point in his political career but I certainly don't wish any of the illnesses that come to mind when I guess what could be wrong.

Ken Pittman is the host of The Ken Pittman Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Contact him at ken.pittman@townsquaremedia.com. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

More From WBSM-AM/AM 1420