It might be time to consult Bayh

Maybe it’s time for someone to ask Birch Bayh what he thinks.

Bayh, who served as U.S. Senator from Indiana from 1963 to 1981, is credited with writing the 25th amendment to the Constitution.

It addressed a subject that arose from the horrible reality of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

What would the nation do, Sen. Bayh wondered, if the president of the United States were physically or mentally unable to perform the duties of his office.  

In starker terms, what would the nation have done if, instead of claiming the life of JFK, that bullet in Dallas had left the president brain-damaged, unconscious or unable to function.

That was no small question during the height of the Cold War.

And it was a question the Constitution did not address. That’s what led to Bayh’s amendment.

If you wonder why the 25th amendment is a topic of discussion these days, you haven’t been paying attention.

There has been serious talk by serious people, both in and around the White House, about President Trump’s ability to make the decisions and tough judgments that go with the job.

To be sure, some of those expressing doubts are doing so for partisan reasons.

But the flood of disturbing anecdotes and first-hand comments arising in the past several days thanks to a remarkable fly-on-the-wall account of the Trump presidency is enough to give anyone pause.

It’s impossible to escape the notion that something is seriously out of kilter — mentally, physically, emotionally or a combination of all three — with the man who sits behind the desk in the Oval Office.

This isn’t the scenario Birch Bayh envisioned when he wrote the 25th amendment. His thinking had been shaped by the assassination in Dallas.

But the 25th amendment appears to be the tool constructed to deal with the issue at hand.

Maybe it’s time to ask what Birch thinks. — J.R.