There is something seriously wrong with George W. Bush

[chiburb]

I know we all know that, but here is an excellent observation of the Chimp, by DU's own "Maha"...

Snip:

And Wolffe says Bush was unable to frame his message to be appropriate for his audience. He used "inside the beltway" jargon, says Wolffe, and spoke of "Medicare Plus Choice, as if his audience knew the technical differences between one part of the program and another."

This seems significant to me because it reveals an utter lack of empathy with his audience. Any normal person, especially a politician -- even a lying scoundrel of a politician -- would aim his message in a way that suited his audience. An inability to empathize is a big red flag of narcissistic personality disorder.

Also, it seems to me that Bush's performance reveals either a complete lack of interest in connecting with the voters in spite of the fact that he clearly wants their votes (personality disorder?)or an ability to do so (brain damage?).

Last week ("Don't Blame the Pretzel") I wrote that Shrub's ability to speak coherently has deteriorated considerably over the past ten years. He's gone downhill even since he's been in the White House. Some dismiss his blabbering as innate stupidity, and others think it's part of a strategy to trick his opponents into "misunderestimating" him. But the first explanation doesn't explain the fact that he used to be smarter, and the second just doesn't fit the circumstances of his talk in Kansas City.

There is something seriously wrong with George W. Bush.

(NOTE: Slow loading, be patient.)

http://www.mahablog.com/

[doni_georgia]

1. Psychiatrist on AAR says that Bush has difficulty organizing his mind

Said that he has disordered thinking and in his early years he used alohol to slow down and organize his thoughts. now he appears to use compartmentalizing things as black or white (right or wrong) to help him organize his thoughts.

[GR]

2. What Date Was That And Which Program...

Thanks

[doni_georgia]

20. This morning - they were saying it as I was typing it

It was on Unfiltered.

[Don_G]

22. The Latest From Capitol Hill Blue

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4704.shtml

[doni_georgia]

25. This is too good not to quote - excerpts here

"George W. Bush is a case study in contradiction," Dr. Frank writes in Bush On The Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. "Bush is an untreated ex-alcoholic with paranoid and megalomaniac tendencies." . . .

Dr. Carolyn Williams, a psychoanalyst who specializes in paranoid personalities, is a registered Republican and agrees with most of Dr. Frank’s conclusions.

“I find the bulk of his analysis credible,” she said in an interview. “President Bush grew up dealing with an absent but demanding father, a tough mother and an overachieving brother. All left indelible impressions on him along with a desire to prove himself at all cost because he feels surrounded by disapproval. He behavior suggests a classic paranoid personality. Additionally, his stated belief that certain actions are 'God's Will' are symptomatic of delusional behavior.” . . .

Dr. Frank, the Democrat, says the only diagnosis he can offer for the President’s condition is removal from office.

Dr. Williams, the Republican, says she must “reluctantly agree.”

[funkybutt]

3. What's the proper psychiatric term for Bush's problems?

anyone know?

i've just been referring to him as a dumbass...but maybe that's not PC

[Warpy]

5. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

Check it out at http://www.healthcentral.com/mhc/top/000771.cfm

Think of the slurred speech, the balance problems, the difficulty walking, the Segway fall, the pretzel showing difficulty swallowing, the confabulation of what he did on 9/11, watching nonexistent video, his disconjugate gaze, the erratic temperament.

It all fits. If this aint Bush, what is?

[Ilsa]

7. I've heard of several possibilities:

Wernicke's aphasia for his difficulties with expressive speech;

ADD for his inability to manage anything but short bursts of information;

Dyslexia for his difficulties in reading simple speeches;

Narcissism: his grandiosity, "selected by God" etc.;

Alcoholism: never really treated, he is "dry drunk" which explains why he is nuts over sugar and his former alcohol problems may be affecting his brain. He might have been using the chemical high in the brain from running to give him a "fix".

If none of these are workable from a clinical point of view, I'll settle for calling him a stupid, heartless, self-absorbed, snotty cockroach.

[jdj]

14. Cocaine psychosis.

Or falling that, permanent drug-induced neurological damage.

Or could just be bad DNA.

[doni_georgia]

21. They didn't label it - seems it's a disorder of its own

Disordered Thinking:

Disordered thinking: A failure to be able to "think straight." Thoughts may come and go rapidly. The person may not be able to concentrate on one thought for very long and may be easily distracted, unable to focus attention. The person may be unable to connect thoughts into logical sequences, with thoughts becoming disorganized and fragmented. This lack of logical continuity of thought, termed a "thought disorder," can make conversation very difficult and may contribute to social isolation. If people cannot make sense of what an individual is saying, they are likely to become uncomfortable and tend to leave that person alone. Disorder thinking is a characteristic feature of schizophrenia

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=26296

It is also a characteristic of bipolar disorder, ADD, personality disorder

[funkybutt]

4. This article says he's a "dry drunk"

http://www.apj.us/20020924Bisbort.html

[amber dog democrat]

6. Ya THINK ?

I am wondering if the stresses he subjects himself to and is subjected to are not wearing him down to the point that he is intellecutally degenerating.
there is so little genuine engagement or interest coming from him in the things he talks about. His speeches, pathetic as they are, are all about image, symbols, and screaming generalities. What details do come up are lies.

I can only wonder if he is struggling to hold himself intact, waging an internal battle against a repressed and denied inner self. An hypothysis... He never really had a chance at living an authentic life, trapped in a matrix of privelledge, approval withheld and competeing with an impossibly high standard of success set by his father.

Its only going to become worse as his torture is reflected in the damage done to others and the world. The inner self is manefest in the outer reality.

I am never going to apologize or vote for him yetI wonder who the REAL GWB is.
He seems to be a loose bundle of psycohactive elements, not much of a soul there.
The irony is for all his public religeosity, my sense is that God, ( what ever that is ) is not to be mocked - and his worse fear should be that he gets what he is asking for.

Maybe he can get attonement after evolving from a moss lichen.

[Bridget Burke]

8. He's gotten worse recently.

Not long ago, "Frontline" did a program on the aggressive evangelical fundamentalists' grab for political power. Bush the younger used their help to win the governorship of Texas. To illustrate, part of a campaign speech was featured.

He was that same smarmy creep I voted against back then. No real intellectual depth, ever. But he seemed more aware, more alive, more in control.

He's weaker & more fragile now. Recent physical problems? Drugs they're using on him? Drugs he's using on himself? Who knows?

[chiburb]

9. More from Maha....

Ten years ago Bush's debating style was genuinely impressive. Fallows goes on about it at some length, arguing that Bush was not just competent, but extraordinarily skilled in his debate presentation in 1994. Fallows also spoke with people who knew Bush in his early days as governor and who called him "fluent and knowledgable."

Considering his recent performances, such as the Tim Russert interview and the April televised "press conference" on Iraq, IMO the man must have suffered some kind of physiological deterioration in the past ten years. If the problem were just that he doesn't seem quite as sharp as he used to be, I could understand -- he's under more pressure now, and one could speculate that he doesn't feel as sure of himself.

But the change is too extreme to explain away. In fact, judging by the above-mentioned recent televised performances, he's gone downhill quite a bit since 2000.

Alcoholism or drug use would explain the deterioration. If it's not that, Bush must have some kind of debilitating disease, either psychological or physiological. Expect to see more evidence of this as the presidential campaign heats up.

http://www.mahablog.com/

[Justpat]

10. And what is there to say

about all the lunatics who actually voted for him last time and
for the ones who will vote for him now? What is their excuse?

How come so many people accept his stupidity as an OK trait in
the leader of the free world? And how come even the dumbest of
our own citizens cannot see that GWB is everything we have always
claimed to detest in third world dictators?

Whether he is a dry drunk, narcissistic, or a bona fide pyscopath -
why has our country sunk so low that we accepted this detestable,
rat faced moron as our president? What should we say about ourselves?

[Beam Me Up]

11. I don't give a fuck what his 'problem' is

This is not PC of me, but frankly, I really don't care whether he's just a smart-alecky dumb ass or has some 'condition': THE MAN DOES NOT BELONG IN THE WHITE HOUSE, HE IS A DANGER TO OUR NATIONAL SECURITY. That is all that matters to me and is all that should matter to anyone. Whether he "understands" it or not, every decision he and his administration has made has worked against the best interests of this country. If he isn't on the payroll of the Saudi's (the majority of the 9/11 "hijackers" were Saudi), he might as well be.

[yellowcanine]

12. Bush's only problem is the problem of all liars - it is getting hard to

remember the lies that were told yesterday so today's lies tend to contradict what was said before. He is now at the point where he actually doesn't know when he is lying and when he is telling the truth.

[seemslikeadream]

13. Bush's Erratic Behavior Worries White House Aides

From Capitol Hill Blue

Bush Leagues
Bush's Erratic Behavior Worries White House Aides
By DOUG THOMPSON
Publisher, Capitol Hill Blue
Jun 4, 2004, 06:15



President George W. Bush’s increasingly erratic behavior and wide mood swings has the halls of the West Wing buzzing lately as aides privately express growing concern over their leader’s state of mind.

In meetings with top aides and administration officials, the President goes from quoting the Bible in one breath to obscene tantrums against the media, Democrats and others that he classifies as “enemies of the state.”

Worried White House aides paint a portrait of a man on the edge, increasingly wary of those who disagree with him and paranoid of a public that no longer trusts his policies in Iraq or at home.

The President's abrupt dismissal of CIA Directory George Tenet Wednesday night is, aides say, an example of how he works.

"Tenet wanted to quit last year but the President got his back up and wouldn't hear of it," says an aide. "That would have been the opportune time to make a change, not in the middle of an election campaign but when the director challenged the President during the meeting Wednesday, the President cut him off by saying 'that's it George. I cannot abide disloyalty. I want your resignation and I want it now."

more
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/printer_4636.shtml


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=602189

[Just Me]

That article is one of the reasons why I suspected schizoaffective,...

,...disorder.

From http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Schizoaffective_Disorder.htm

Some psychiatric disorders are very difficult to diagnose accurately. One of the most confusing conditions is schizoaffective disorder.

This relatively rare disorder is defined as "the presence of psychotic symptoms in the absence of mood changes for at least two weeks in a patient who has a mood disorder." The diagnosis is used when an individual does not fit diagnostic standards for either schizophrenia or "affective" (mood) disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder (manic depression).

Some people may have symptoms of both a depressive disorder and schizophrenia at the same time, or they may have symptoms of schizophrenia without mood symptoms.

Many individuals with schizoaffective disorder are originally diagnosed with manic depression. If the person experiences delusions or hallucinations that go away in less than two weeks when the mood is "normal," bipolar disorder may be the proper diagnosis. Someone who experiences psychosis for three or four weeks while in a manic phase does not have schizoaffective disorder.
However, if delusions or hallucinations continue after the mood has stabilized and are accompanied by other symptoms of schizophrenia such as catatonia, paranoia, bizarre behavior, or thought disorders, a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder may be appropriate. Accurate diagnosis is easier once the acute psychotic episode is under control.

But, hey,...pinning down a diagnosis merely from observing behavior in one arena and from other people's observations is a "hit-n-miss". Differing minds would certainly reach different conclusions.

[seemslikeadream]

26. I don't know how anyone can watch bush speak

and deny there's something terribly terribly wrong.

:hi: Just

[LittleApple81]

15. Listen to this MP3 of Bush*'s laugh at the G-8 press conference.

To me, it says it all:

http://news.globalfreepress.com/mp3/airAmericaRadio.com/bush-weird-augh.mp3

(Note: kindly provided by BPilgrim on another thread yesterday)

[wadestock]

16. ARROGANCE AND IGNORANCE

It's a deadly combination.

He's been recently quoted as saying his dad "cut and run" in Iraq. That literally blew my mind. Up till that point I knew he hadn't talked to daddy about how to more intelligently form a coalition, etc, and I, like most simply believed that he was trying to "avenge his father's death threat".

Boy was that giving him WAY too much credit.
Now we come to find the life time alcoholic (and still drinking in my opinion) probably wanted to show ol daddy up. Too bad he had to drag a wonderfully trained and inspired volunteer American army along to do his little "rewriting of the history books".

They say that lifetime alcoholics have a serious problem in terms of psychologically maturing. In other words, the constant state of drunkenness takes away from life's real experiences and a true potential for keen insight etc. In effect, he's operating at a level of a 6th grade student in my opinion.

Combine that with the arrogance and well....you can see it all pretty much fits together....

[livinginphotographs]

17. Narcissist and a sociopath.

I've heard (I'm no expert) that sociopathic personalities can be caused to some extent by not having a strong connection with a parental figure, especially a mother. That lack of a connection leaves them unable to develop connections with other people or have any sense of empathy. Take one look at Babs; need I say more as to what kind of mother she was?

Wasn't there an article in the Guardian about this a while back?

[midnight armadillo]

23. I've been reading up on narcissism

I've been reading up on narcissism for dealing with a family member...

The hallmark of narcissism is an inability to deal with shame, apparently caused by emotional abuse in early childhood. This is what leads to the grandiosity and rages when the self-centered fantasies are deflated. True narcissists are unable to have any real empathy with others.

A recent review of "Bush on the Couch" noted the stunning history of Bush's family - when W was 7 his 3 year old sister died of leukemia. There was no funeral and the next day Babs and George Sr. went golfing. Clearly grief and other 'bad' emotions were terribly repressed in this family. Combine that with being named after his father, forced to follow his footsteps, and then being a miserable failure at it and you have a recipe for disaster.

I don't know what sort of personality disorder George Jr. has, but it's safe to say that he and his family are SERIOUSLY FUCKED UP
Good lord, and then he winds up pResident, the most powerful man in the world. What disturbs me is not so much that the Bushes have a range of mental issues but that so many people ENABLE their continued pursuit of public office and wealth.

[livinginphotographs]

24. One of my favorite sayings....

"In any other country in the world, he would've starved to death by now."
----Frank "Grimey" Grimes

[treepig]

18. about the shrub losing speaking ability over the past ten years

this month's atlantic monthly



totally agrees with you.

see the "When George Meets John" article, sorry don't know if the entire piece is online:


http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2004/07/

[Jose Diablo]

19. Has work been done recently at the Whitehouse

on the plumbing system? Maybe using lead based soldier on the water pipes?