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But in the case of their Commander-in-Chief, the president who occupies the most powerful office in this country, who can initiate wars or even a nuclear strike against some country that may pose a threat to America, takes an annual physical but not a mental exam.

This article covers the subject of " Fitness for Duty Evaluations, or FFDs, that are performed for government agencies, military services, police departments, and private companies as the need arises. When an individual's capacity to function successfully as an employee is called into question, it is not only appropriate but necessary that the individual undergo a physical and/or psychological evaluation. FFDs are also performed once an individual has been offered a position to evaluate in advance the individual's capability of performing successfully on the job."

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows "the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to recommend the removal of the president in cases where he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office and allows the House and Senate to confirm the recommendation over the president's objection by a two-thirds vote."

Sounds good, just what is needed to address this issue, right? Certainly not, since it is not mandatory such as a fitness evaluation would be. In this polluted political system, we are never going to see members of Trump's administration dare to even think about removing him for any reason unless he goes totally berserk. And that's because they care more about protecting their political lives than making sure this country has a rational, stable president.

Any number of highly respected psychiatrists have indicated that Mr. Trump could be based on his often highly questionable and sometimes bizarre behavior, may have some sort of mental condition or emotional problem that should be addressed. However, all they can do is speculate. That's because the psychiatric profession has the Goldwater Rule that says that psychiatrists are not to make concrete evaluations of a person's mental state unless they personally examine the individual.

Well, it doesn't take a psychiatrist to see someone who, like Trump, seems to be out there somewhere in "left field." All one needs to do is to review hundreds of Trump initiated tweets that emanate from the White House on a constant basis.

Here is one article followed by another that list the many quotes by Trump that are indications that he has some sort of emotional problems.

It's time that this situation is addressed, we can't continue to allow individuals who appear to have obvious emotional problems to become president or remain on the job. Psychiatrists and numerous writers have suggested that what we need to see implemented is a special fitness test, both physical and mental, to be given to any candidate for the U.S.presidency as well as the Vice-President.

And, if at any time during the tenure of the president or vice-president either of them shows clear signs of a possibly serious mental condition, this kind of evaluation would be given. Some would say that this is just going too far. But it can readily be justified when considering the responsibilities that come with such powerful, high-level positions.

Here are some very important, highly professional occupations in various fields of endeavor that require those who desire to enter them to pass various types of tests that apply to their competence, as well as their mental stability.

Doctors

Lawyers

Judges

Scientists

Teachers

Psychiatrists

Are there any of these occupations or professions that do not require a high degree of special education together with tests and evaluations in order to qualify for entry into their chosen fields of endeavor? If you are an incompetent doctor, judge, or scientist, or you show signs of being mentally unstable, you won't last long in your chosen profession.

Let's talk about mental stability which could be described as the ability to remain calm in stressful situations, to have the capability to make critically important decisions, and to not being prone to wild fluctuations of emotions.

We currently have a president who badly wants a wall on America's Southern border to prevent the entry of illegal aliens. After Democrats in Congress refused to approve funding for the wall, he recklessly shut down the government. This adversely affected some 800,000 government employees, air traffic controllers, TSA agents, and others in the airline industry. They have not been paid in over a month, are having trouble paying bills, and some are having to work two jobs.

Is this president fully aware that this situation could cause massive problems with airline safety involving about 2.5 million passengers per day? He seems totally unconcerned. Dire warnings are being issued indicating that air traffic controllers, in particular, are under great stress, which could greatly affect their performance and contribute to serious mistakes.

We could, if this situation continues without relief, see terrible things happen relative to air traffic safety. And it is highly possible that, if this situation goes on much longer, we could see air traffic controllers failing to show up for work which could trigger catastrophic problems. Is Trump willing to put the lives of Americans on the line just to get this wall?

To shut down the government, endanger air traffic safety, to literally turn this country upside down, in order to force the funding of a wall - that's not just instability, that's madness. It's absolutely reprehensible, beyond comprehension, and a sign of serious instability.

So, hopefully, one day we will see such a critically important test/evaluation put in place to make certain that the two individuals who occupy the most important government positions in this country are in good mental health.

Last question: what if such an evaluation process had been in effect when Trump was running for president? Could he have passed it? Of course not.

Michael Payne