WP: For President Under Duress, Body Language Speaks Volumes

[kskiska]

By Dana Milbank

(snip)

Only the president's closest friends and family know (if anybody does) what he's really thinking these days, during Katrina woes, Iraq violence, conservative anger over Harriet Miers, and legal trouble for Bush's top political aide and two congressional GOP leaders. Bush has not been viewed up close; as he took his eighth post-Katrina trip to the Gulf Coast yesterday, the press corps has accompanied him only once, because the White House says logistics won't permit it. Even the interview on the "Today" show was labeled "closed press."

But this much could be seen watching the tape of NBC's broadcast during Bush's 14-minute pre-sunrise interview, in which he stood unprotected by the usual lectern. The president was a blur of blinks, taps, jiggles, pivots and shifts. Bush has always been an active man, but standing with Lauer and the serene, steady first lady, he had the body language of a man wishing urgently to be elsewhere.

The fidgeting clearly corresponded to the questioning. When Lauer asked if Bush, after a slow response to Katrina, was "trying to get a second chance to make a good first impression," Bush blinked 24 times in his answer. When asked why Gulf Coast residents would have to pay back funds but Iraqis would not, Bush blinked 23 times and hitched his trousers up by the belt.

When the questioning turned to Miers, Bush blinked 37 times in a single answer -- along with a lick of the lips, three weight shifts and some serious foot jiggling. Laura Bush, by contrast, delivered only three blinks and stood still through her entire answer about encouraging volunteerism.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/11/AR2005101101577.html?sub=AR

[Bumblebee]

1. Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2151794

[Sabriel]

52. Laura's looking good, though

"Laura Bush, by contrast, delivered only three blinks and stood still through her entire answer about encouraging volunteerism."

It's nice to see the drugs are doing their job....

[katty]

77. after WH, Laura to bush: separate homes, see ya,,,,,

[jsamuel]

2. :O

[Tom Joad]

3. This is what the press analyzes?

Rather than looking into the substance of his actions. I don't really care about his feelings of fears or whatnot...

well maybe just a bit, i did read this post.

[OKDem08]

4. Yeah, not really substantive

but I'm enjoying the 'pile it on' factor a bit.
:popcorn:
Popcorn anyone? I'll share.

[BamaBecky]

25. Ditto & Puke!

[Inland]

31. Requires no more investigation than watching the tape

It's about the same level as declaring Bush a strong, confident leader by evaluating his posture and staging.

Bush got really, really far by just never admitting to himself that things were going shitty, and until it showed on his face, well, that was that and the press couldn't say anything to the contrary.

Now it shows on his face, and the press is suddenly discovering BUsh is doing badly. They can't be any better than Bush's ability to control his tics and squirming?

[eek]

35. it is an indirect way of saying he is full of it.

i think it is cool.
leading horsey to waterbut letting horsey draw his own conclusions about what to do with that water.

much more effective than saying "he is lying" . That sort of thing you can just dismiss as "spin from the liberal media"

the other way? gets you a "hmmm.. he sure did look twitchy. wonder what he's up to?"

[Megahurtz]

81. He's probably just itching for another vacation. n/t

[patcox2]

36. You don't understand the significance of this, its not fluff.

This is serious, when the press starts reporting on a person's tics and quirks like this. This article suggests that they think Bush is on the verge of losing his mind. I am serious here. The press have some ways of saying things that they lack the evidence to come out and say directly, like the way they used to say a gay man was a "confirmed bachelor." The fact that they are describing and discussing Bush's whacky tics is an indication that they recognize he is unstable, under too much pressure, and not coping well.

[Arugula Latte]

42. Agreed.

This is good stuff.

[VegasWolf]

55. Boy! I can't wait for the 4th of July fireworks to start! nt

[Straight Shooter]

76. patcox2, you are spot on.

Especially considering that this is a Dana Milbank article.

[katty]

78. Concur-not fluff--echoing what has been said in alt reports

[oxbow]

60. They as much as called him a nutcase about to crack!

I didn't watch this interview, but from Milbank's description it sounds like George is having a serious ADD episode. He's fidgeting and blinking so hard he might take off any second. When the Whitehouse stonewalls any attempts by journalists to understand what's going on, this is what they come up with, and I'm glad they're doing it. This article shows a White House beset by scandal and the fruits of its own incompetency. It shows a President whose body is literally betraying him frm the amount of stress he's under. It shows the happy-go-lucky veneer as just that, a face that he's putting on for the cameras. Without coming out and saying it, this article illustrates what we've been saying for months: the king has serious mental problems and the White House's media friendly facade can't hide their own incompetency anymore.

[roseBudd]

82. blinking is a sign of lieing n/t

[oxbow]

86. so what does blinking 36 times during one sentence mean?

maybe a big lie, maybe that he's losing it. Either way, I wish more people would talk about this. Maybe after the indictments, when the advanced-grade stonewalling begins, others will notice what we have here.

[progressivebydesign]

61. They are keeping journalists at arm's length.

What more can they report? Bush is crumbling in front of us... and I couldn't be happier.

[Spinzonner]

5. President Queeg ?

Except he's not manipulating his marbles, he's losing them.


(Yes, I know they weren't marbles, they were steel balls, but that would take us in a whole 'nother direction.)

[reprobate]

47. You're right. Bush DOESN"T have steel balls!

[geniph]

79. Dammit, you beat me to that!

I was about to wonder if he was demanding to know what'd happened to the rest of the strawberries...

[MADem]

6. It's like Kremlinology, what with the 'closed press'

They used to pay schmucks to watch Soviet TV and try to read the tea leaves based on the footage of the hoi polloi at the inevitable parades. This article reminds me of that.

He sure ain't holding many open press conferences, and never has; and with the current mood, I doubt he'll be eager to do too much of that in future, either.

[wellstone_democrat]

7. Laura "serene?" No *numb*

Xanax'd out as usual.

[Cha]

65. Like the song from The Proclaimers says..

"I could tell the meaning of a word like Serene".."I got some O'Grades when I was sixteen"!

http://lyrics.duble.com/lyrics/P/the-proclaimers-lyrics/the-proclaimers-cap-in-hand-lyrics.htm

[fshrink]

8. I have a very bad feeling about this second term.

Caligula is over his head. He's losing it.

[jaysunb]

9. The press see the " blood in the water "

and just like with Watergate, the corporate masters ( media conglomerates)are tossing their latest lackey overboard.

The Bush presidency is over.....

[kskiska]

10. Nothing about coke jaw

[SpiralHawk]

24. But Bush's Coke Jaw is the most obvious thing

We all see it.

Wonder why the Post left that out?

[Cha]

66. Maybe they think it's

too much "coffee jaw"..to wake the chimp up?

[FlaGranny]

54. May I ask a question?

I hope it's not TOO dumb, but what is meant by coke jaw? Do people who do coke move their jaw like * does? I've never been around people who do coke so I'm clueless.

[zann725]

71. I counted FOUR jaw twitches...during "difficult" questions from Matt

I may have missed a few. Didn'twatch the whole show.

[HuffleClaw]

11. wow, what a kewl article !

there WAS a day when such things would never have dared to be commented on. a none-to-subtle article proclaiming his GUILT if you ask me.

[ShockediSay]

12. Resign Chimp!

You too were played for a chump by the guys who read the newspapers for you and told you that you could be President of the United States.

[Blaq Dem]

13. No, that's just fhe lingering effects of smoking crack

Remember, everyone, crack rots the brain! Just say no to drugs.

[truthisfreedom]

14. what a spectacular analysis. the hits are coming fast and furious, people

and there's nothing left for the thugs to do but retreat and attempt to regroup.

[Benhurst]

15. "an active man" = a man with absolutely no composure NT

[reprobate]

48. "Active man"= Adult Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. And coke jaw.

[Buns_of_Fire]

16. Maybe he had to go potty

and Condi wasn't around to give him permission?

[Cha]

67. Yeah, did they ever think

of that? Maybe the chimp just needed to relieve himself.

[hellbound-liberal]

17. Looks like "the dope is on the ropes" ! When the Washington

"Compost" starts turning on him, you know he's in trouble. What's next Howie Kurtz getting off his knees?

[Cha]

68. No chance of that..kurtz's

knees are nailed to the ground.

edit~ Although, I see now this was written by dana milbank so maybe that's a pig whizzing by my penthouse window.

[cassiepriam]

18. This may mean things are much worse than we know.

Sociopaths usually do not decompensate unless faced with severe personal consequences of their behavior. I suppose the loss of his minders could feel like serious losses to him since he cannot function without them. This means he realizes that he is in over his head perhaps. Or that he knows he is directly involved in some of the illegalities.

Also I think it is telling that his aides are isolating him more and more from the public. This is telling me that Bush is getting more temperamental and unpredictable. Underneath all of Bush's bravado he is a very needy immature little boy who cannot function without others propping him up.

[UpInArms]

22. will he call for Mommy Karen to come back

and hold his hand?

[cassiepriam]

23. Meirs too. but she will be gone to SC....

Right now Condi and Karen overseas, Meirs occupied with SC confirmation. Looks like Pickles is it for him right now.

[reprobate]

50. Kina reminds you of his hero Adolph's last days at the bunker, huh?

[cassiepriam]

75. yes, he looks like he in on meltdown. nt

[leftchick]

19. wow Dana! Great insight!

:sarcasm: He has only been blinking, hopping, drooling and lip licking for almost 5 fucking years!

[susu369]

20. Thank you for pointing that out

Personally, I lost respect for Dana's reporting quite a while back.

[Tamarin]

29. Well, at least now they see what we see.

Remember the days when Bush's twitching, blinking and drooling was proclaimed to be the visage of a *Strong Leader*? I no longer feel as though I live in a parallel universe.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

21. Laura.

Laura Bush, by contrast, delivered only three blinks and stood still through her entire answer about encouraging volunteerism.

I thought robots weren't supposed to blink.

[momster]

26. Dana Gives Up Kool-Aid

I thought the last couple of times he's been on with Keith O, that Dana Milbank had begun to wake up from his kool-aid induced slumber. This article is further evidence.

Laura only blinked three times? *Lizards* blink more than that. Meanwhile, * is blinking like a shorting-out light bulb. Oh, wait....

[turbo_satan]

28. Poppy will be furious

That Milbank, a fellow Bonesman, would turn on W like this speaks volumes. Oh, to be a fly on the wall at the crypt.

[ret5hd]

27. The Aspen Are Turning!!! (nt)

[Cha]

70. They are indeed!

scooter and his freakin' aspens!

[catmandu57]

30. Great, now the fucker has tourettes

that was my first thought before long he'll bust out with obscenities and inappropriate behaviors.

[cilla4progress]

34. Wait - he already is!

Everything that comes out his mouth is an OBSCENITY... and

INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIORS - well, nothing to add there! ;)

[robbedvoter]

32. Um, Dana dear, have you seen the presidential debates?

Where were these types of articles then?

I still remember your: "Gore makes you feel he thinks he's better than you, while W, who actually is better never does"

What does this assessment make YOU now, Dana dear?

[glitch]

37. Indeed. These people have a long way to go if they hope to ever recover

their credibility. If that's even possible.

[SupplyConcerns]

33. Noticing his sociopathic nature

"Certainly, Bush retained many of the gestures that work well for him: the purposeful but restrained hand gestures, the head-tilted smile of amusement and the easy laugh. But he seemed to lose control of the timing. He smiled after observing that Iraqis are "paying a serious price" because of terrorism."

Even in politics, emotional responses are not something you consciously must always manipulate, and that you could simply "lose control of the timing of". Sociopaths are the ones who lack basic human emotionality, and who must go through life faking it, "disconnected from humanity" (in the words of one mother of a dead soldier after he visit to Bush). Perhaps the writer is aware of something being fundamentally wrong with Bush, and is indicating that by the way he describes some of Bush's responses. The impression one gets after that article is that Bush is like a malfunctioning android.

[eek]

38. comments to some comments

CassiePriam writes:
"This is telling me that Bush is getting more temperamental and unpredictable. "

- ie:aWol's really hittin' the sauce

#13 BlaqDem writes:
"Remember, everyone, crack rots the brain! Just say no to drugs."

-Be good in school and don't do crack. It's a ghetto drug.

#29 Tamarin sez:
" Well, at least now they see what we see."

- Don't y'all think the press has seen what we see all along? At last the climate has made it safer for them to say so.
Come back Ashleigh - all is forgiven!

And fercryinoutloud. He was wearing a toolbelt? I watched the interview on tiny player so didn't see details.
How perfect: a toobelt for the tool.



Pass the popcorn?

[young_at_heart]

46. Bush lacks the capacity to mourn

E.L. Doctorow, the famous author, said this: "But this president does not know what death is. He hasn't the mind for it. You see him joking with the press, peering under the table for WMD he can't seem to find, you see him at rallies strutting up to the stage in shirt sleeves to the roar of a carefully screened crowd, smiling and waving, triumphal, a he-man. He does not mourn. He doesn't understand why he should mourn. He is satisfied during the course of a speech written for him to look solemn for a moment and speak of the brave young Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

But you study him, you look into his eyes and know he dissembles an emotion which he does not feel in the depths of his being because he has no capacity for it."

[goforit]

59. Perverse laughter over terrorism....Thats scary!

[grasswire]

39. and the author is a fellow Skull & Bones member

I suppose this is the best Milbank will ever do to another Bonesman. Comment on the tics.

[kostya]

40. Anybody got a link to video? n/t

:kick:

[SpiralHawk]

41. Response from Dana Milbank

I e-mailed Dana Milbank this morning to thank him for his observations, and his story about them. I also asked him why he made no mention of Bush's obvious and peculiar jaw twitches - the so called Coke Jaw that so many people have observed.

I just got a return e-mail from Mr. Milbank:


"i was too busy watching the lips and knees! will investigate..."

So there you have it.

[Lucille]

69. He emailed me too; said he'd refer my comments to another reporter

Maybe he's been getting a lot of notes asking him why he missed the most obvious tic of all: Bush's grinding jaw. I suggested that
Milbank contact a movement disorders specialist, and said that Bush's tics are symptomatic of underlying health issues. I also mentioned the "coke jaw," but lest he identify me as a hysterical *-hater, said that such ticing can be the results of medication or neurological conditions. I mentioned the wide availability of the videos on the internet that display that particular tic. Milbank emailed me back and said he was referring my comments to another reporter who is informed about neurological issues.

I really don't know how anybody who spends any time looking at Bush could miss the jaw. Interesting that Milbank makes that claim. I don't believe him, but understand. It must suck to know that you are part of an utterly corrupt fourth estate.

[Cha]

Dupe~Self delete!

[Cha]

72. Wow! That's funny!

And I'm shocked that this is coming from milbank!

Will be curious to learn what is next from milbank..will he go back to being a mouthpiece for the bushits Or will he continue his astute observations?

[Lucille]

74. I don't know that he's a mouth piece for the Bushies.

He's lazy, self-satisfied, cynical burn-out who's happy to repeat the conventional wisdom of the power-players in DC--all of whom are tied to Republicans. Imagine that you're a reporter who counts the number of times Bush blinks, but completely misses the jaw--not to mention his odd performance during the presidental debates. Bush would have to start barking like a dog before it would dawn on Milbank that the leader of the free world displays some worrisome neurological symptoms.

[superconnected]

43. I deal with actors

Laura Bush only blinking 3 times is wired and unnatural. Okay it depends how long she was talking. She should have several blinks a minute.

Prez Bush blinking so much - means his responses are not spontaneous but calclulated. He's thinking of anything but the truth.

I tell my actors, if they don't believe it(when they're saying their lines) neither do I. Bush, does not believe it.

[olddad56]

44. thirty seven blinks, that is higher than he can count.

[Gregorian]

45. Dead Iraqis- That's body language.

I saw Barbara Bush on cspan, and saw similar head motions. The cockiness is a family trait.

edit- I won't deny that he's psychotic more than ever, now. This really isn't news. 3000 dead Afghans who were stuffed into containers to boil in the desert would have been news. But that's a story that they refuse to speak about. American soldiers watched. Fuck Bush's facial ticks.

[Hobarticus]

49. "I'm dyin' for a Bloody Mary over here..."

"Come on, Sparky, wrap this up...."

[The Roux Comes First]

51. Is There a Doctor in the House? How About a White Jacket?

I’m with those who relished this article. Any sign of creeping independence and truth-telling in the corporate-stream media is great by me! The counterpoint that came to mind was the backpack prompter during the debates – remember that the press (NYT in particular) killed that story rather than risk criticism for broaching the subject shortly before the election.

I’d say we’ve come a long way when this crack photo-op team fields george with a hammer at his waist! His tics and sputtering, neatly framed by 2 by 4 studs, for me evoked Hitler’s outlandish raves in Downfall as that earlier faith-based universe was crashing down around him.

[Tight_rope]

53. " Bush has always been an active man"?....hahaha!

Now that's the understatement of the year. The man is clots. How many times does he have to fall off his bike, before people can see what a nincompoop he is.:banghead: :spank:

[VegasWolf]

56. "I am not insane!!!" "Read my lips!" "Stay the course!!" nt

[progressivebydesign]

57. Where is the coke jaw reference? I mean that jaw thing is wierd! n/t

[goforit]

58. This guy needs help!!!.....He has got to be the most insecure man on Earth

His statement....
"He smiled after observing that Iraqis are "paying a serious price" because of terrorism".....

This Shows his psychopathic viewpoint and sick humor on
his terrorism imposed on the Iraqis.

[wordout]

62. the israeli pressure to attack syria must be intense

with miers offering one suck per syrian death.

[Cha]

63. What's this about "Gulf Coast

residents paying back funds and Iraqis not"?

Isn't pickles on better meds than bush?

[KDLarsen]

64. "...body language of a man wishing urgently to be elsewhere"

Where was Condi? You know * can't take a leak without her giving him permision.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

73. Actually . . .

I thought the shit running down his pants was a dead give away.

[geniph]

80. Didn't he get permission from Condimelda to use the potty

before the interview?

[lovuian]

83. He can't stop the unconscious which is taking over and

driving him to self destruction!!!

[llmart]

84. Good!

I wanna see this f***** lose it completely and caught on camera so he's finally exposed for the alkie he is and always will be. Born again and sober my ass! I never for once believed he was truly a Christian or sober.

And I want to look all those assholes in the face who I know voted for him and say, "I told you so."

[yorkiemommie1]

85. me too

all it will take will be some seemingly insignificant incident or question and he will lose it. i'm sure he's done it privately; i want to see the implosion on camera.

i've already told the A******* i know who voted for him ' I told you so'! Feels good!