Senator Jim Jeffords(R I, VT) has been missing a lot of important votes lately. What's up with this? One explanation is that he's spending more time with his wife, who is undergoing cancer treatment. This was the ostensible reason Jeffords decided not to run for re-election in 2006. But there may be another one (courtesy of the Dwinell Report):
So many people have written and talked to us about personal encounters with Senator Jeffords. All assume that his behavior is caused by Alzheimer's disease. Some of the reports leave one's head shaking wondering how Vermont's press corps could not report to Vermont's citizens his deteriorating condition. Some say that it is out of respect to Jeffords. Yet what about respect for the citizen. Most do not follow politics as closely as our readers. There is a need to know, and a need to be fair.That was published in April. Still no answer, as far a I know, although Jeffords has admitted to treatment for ailments related to his age (71).