Does Bush have Degenerative Brain Disease? I'm serious!

[trumad]

I read the most fascinating article today written by James Fallows of the The Atlantic Monthly. In it he describes a debate with the younger George Bush and Ann Richards. Here's a snip:

I'm not so sure. Bush has been far more skillful in his debating career than is generally appreciated, and his successes in that realm put his widely noted lack of eloquence in a different light. During his career George Bush's speaking style has changed significantly, which is why the tape from 1994 was so intriguing.

<snip>
The Bush on this tape was almost unrecognizable—and not just because he looked different from the figure we are accustomed to in the White House. He was younger, thinner, with much darker hair and a more eager yet less swaggering carriage than he has now. But the real difference was the way he sounded.

This Bush was eloquent. He spoke quickly and easily. He rattled off complicated sentences and brought them to the right grammatical conclusions. He mishandled a word or two ("million" when he clearly meant "billion"; "stole" when he meant "sold"), but fewer than most people would in an hour's debate. More striking, he did not pause before forcing out big words, as he so often does now, or invent mangled new ones. end snip
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200407/fallows

So what the hell happened to Bush since then? He's a stumbler, he mangles words and meaning, and he seems lost without a script. I have noticed that at times he can blurt out a couple of coherent solid sentences but then it looks like he reenters that dazed drug like trance.

I think the guy tooted way to much as a youngster and it's effected him big time.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Yep I read the artcile and had the same thuoght

25th ammendment applies, and remember Reagan, he had Alzheimers and they covered it up too

[Warpy]

11. Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

Progressive neurological degeneration from decades of alcohol abuse. The physical incoordination can be treated with high doses of thiamine, but only if the person has quit drinking completely. The cognitive impairment is permanent.

For the umpteenth time: http://www.healthcentral.com/mhc/top/000771.cfm

[sam sarrha]

43. Physical incoordination... you mean the stumbling "SWAGGER" ??

ol' Monkey arms trudging along.. ???

[GainesT1958]

2. I think it's the erosive effects..

Of all that blow cutting through what gray matter he DID have...kind of like the Colorado River's effect on the Grand Canyon, only a LOT smaller, of course!:eyes:

B-)

[trumad]

3. snarf

that was funny....

[liberalpragmatist]

4. Presenile Dementia - Seriously

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/091804Mazza/091804mazza.html

Physician sees 'presenile dementia' in Bush's faltering speech

September 18, 2004 — In a letter to the editor of Atlantic Monthly, October 2004, Joseph M. Price, M.D. of Carsonville, Michigan, comments that James Fallows' July/August Atlantic article on John Kerry's debating skills ("When George Meets John"), "was interesting, but most remarkable was Fallows's documentation of President Bush's mostly overlooked changes over the past decade—specifically 'the striking decline in his sentence-by-sentence speaking skills.'" Dr. Price understands Fallows' initial "speculations that there must be some organic basis for the President's peculiar mode of speech, a learning disability, a reading problem, dyslexia or some other disorder."

Quoting Fallows, Dr. Carson also agrees with him that "The main problem with these theories is that through his forties Bush was perfectly articulate." Yet, Dr. Carson stated he felt "that something organic was wrong with President Bush, most probably dyslexia, but . . . was unaware of what Fallows pointed out so clearly: that Bush's problems have been developing slowly, and that just a decade ago he was an articulate debater." He was as Fallows said, "artful indeed in steering questions and challenges to his desired subjects . . . who did not pause before forcing out big words, as he so often does now, or invent mangled new ones." As Dr. Carson suggests, "Consider, in contrast, the present: 'the informal Q&A he has tried to avoid,' 'Bush's recent faltering performances,' 'his stalling, defensive pose when put on the spot,' 'speaking more slowly and less gracefully.'"

Dr. Price suggests that "not being a professional medical researcher and clinician, Fallows cannot be faulted for not putting two and two together. But he was 100 percent correct in suggesting that Bush's problem cannot be 'a learning disability, a reading problem, dyslexia,' because patients with those problems have always had them." The doctor goes on to say, "Slowly developing cognitive deficits, as demonstrated so clearly by the President , can represent only one diagnosis, and that is 'presenile dementia'! Presenile dementia is best described to nonmedical persons as a fairly typical Alzheimer's situation that develops significantly earlier in life, well before what is usually considered old age."

Dr. Carson adds, "It runs about the same course as typical senile dementias, such as classical Alzheimer's—to incapacitation and, eventually, death, as with President Ronald Reagan, but at a relatively earlier age." Dr. Carson adds, " President Bush's 'mangled' words are a demonstration of what physicians call 'confabulation,' and are almost specific to diagnosis of a true dementia." His advice: "Bush should immediately be given the advantage of a considered professional diagnosis, and started on drugs that offer the possibility of retarding the slow but inexorable course of the disease."

[trumad]

7. Holy shit! Great find liberalpragmatist...

I'm stunned that this has already been written about.... WOW!

This is importnat stuff in MHOP....

[grannylib]

10. Speaks volumes to an earlier post asking why * is putting off a physical

As usual, he has something to hide.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

15. Is he putting off having a physical?

[libertad]

42. CNN is reporting that he put off his physical until after the election.

[Stephanie]

44. Is this why he is yet again refusing to take his physical?

He skipped his August physical and refuses to take it until after the election. I'd like to know if this is legal.

[mike_c]

5. he always did want to be seen as the new Raygun....

What's your name, Ron?

[Poiuyt]

6. Unless he's doing it on purpose

I think he tries to look and sound stupid because the great unwashed will identify with him.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

14. Then he would have left it at the level

he was at during the 2000 election. CSPAN re-aired the 2000 debates and he was MUCH more fluent, spoke more quickly and with much more ease than he does now....by miles. It is that obvious.

[theshadow]

24. He's doing a great job at it, then!

[Raven]

8. I think that the Presidency has that effect on people who

are not prepared to accept its grave responsibilities. Nixon, after all, became a blithering idiot at the end of his term and it may not have been just the booze. Just imagine being the most powerful person on the planet and knowing that you are incompetent for that role. Somewhere, deep down, he knows and its eating his brain away.

[canuckybee]

9. If there is any justice

it will show during the debates.

[npincus]

12. syphillis

contracted long ago in his 'bucking bronco' phase might explain the advanced brain deterioration and psychotic behavior.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

13. Seriously

when CSPAN re-aired the 2000 debate between Gore and bush the other night, I had it on and was GOBSMACKED at how different he sounded and acted. My husband walked by the room and heard it, came in quickly saying "what the HELL?" He thought it was bush speaking NOW and wondered why he sounded so GOOD!!! I explained to him that this was from four years ago and he listened for a while, shook his head, and said "Wow something has seriously happened to him just in the last few years."

All you have to do is hear him speak more than just a couple of years ago and you can see and hear it RIGHT away. He's more alert. He speaks more quickly. He falters and fumbles and flails around, verbally, FAR less than he does now.

No wonder they won't let him do off-the-cuff stuff.

For the record I started noticing a slight change in 2002.

[peacetalksforall]

16. What about pronounciation?

I am fixated on the way he pronouces certain words. I can't bear listening to him that much, but I felt that if I did, I could discover a rhythm or rhyme to the words he selects to mess up by over-emphasis on syllables. It completely interrupts the listening stream. I think it's ridiculous and makes him look even more like a fool. If, however, it is part of a disease, I'd like to attempt to be more generous.

[npincus]

19. Botched cleft palate nip and tuck? Bavarian Tongue Syndrome?

[AGiordino]

28. I've been noticing lately that he is more and more

sssssssssssibilant. Really slurring the c's, s's and even th's on occasion. But I appear to be the only one hearing it. Reminds me of attempting to control my pronuciation when I was drinking constantly and consistently maintaining a very high blood alcohol level.
Just an observation.
Better now two years later with a recognized program of recovery

[allalone]

31. I hear it too

he is getting very hard to understand

[Sparkly]

17. 'That boy ain't right'

That's all I know.

[Lex]

20. Hmmmm . . .

Bobby Hill = Dubya?

[Endangered Specie]

18. I call it Reaganitis.

[n2mark]

21. Come to think of it

Past presidents were always in the news when they had a physical even Clinton.... but, we have not heard anything from Shrub. What is he hiding? When was his last physical? The American people should demand Shrub have a physical before election.

That might mean Kerry too, but... let's hear the truth. Of course, the doctor should not be a WH operative.

[Sparkly]

22. That's interesting

I found one from 2001... Surely he has them annually?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010804-2.html

[grasswire]

26. it was on CNN today

Bush is postponing the annual physical until after the election.

Something to hide, apparently.

[Stephanie]

45. How does he have the RIGHT to do that?

I thought it was required. On what grounds does he refuse to take it?

[baltodemvet]

29. And of course he dodged his TANG physical, too.

hmmmmmm

[democrat in Tallahassee]

23. yeah- Ithought the same thing

I saw some of the Anne Richards debate and thought the same thing... something is definitely wrong with W....

[leftist.]

25. Yesterday's Al Franken repeat on Sundance ...

... showed two clips of * talking about Bin Laden ... and good sweet christ it was like watching someone go through 24-hour labour. He just couldn't push those words out, and when he did there just wasn't anything there. It was embarrassing!!! It's six days after the worst attack ever, a bunch of jackballs just tore up MY city, and he's talking to the world about it while staring out the bloody window at a bird trying to tug a worm from the ground.

God I can not wait for him to be out of here!!!

~paris

[Mr_Spock]

27. I don't have to read any article to know that Dumbya has a brain disease

It's called diarrhea of the brain. When he opens an orifice, he has to be careful as there is likely to be a bunch of crap that flows out. This is why he stutters and stammers as he is trying to redirect that crap flow back into the area where a normal person would have a brain. It's a really crappy disease to have, but I have hope that he will get treatment for it soon when he is sent packing to Crawford wearing his shit kickers!

[allalone]

30. I am starting to have a real problem

understanding him at all. He slurs his words and his lips don't move anymore. I know it isn't my hearing cuz I can hear everything else. Do you all notice this too? And why can't he stand on his own two feet. He is almost laying across the podiums. It's unseemly in a guy who claims to be a world leader. Geez buddy, stand up straight.

[sam sarrha]

46. walks with his arms out like that for ballance...

[plax3]

32. Don't know what could've happened in that time

A reason could be his drinking + drug use in his younger days. Although he would've been the same a few years ago. Maybe he's just like Rush.

[VOX]

33. There has been a change over time, and something is clearly not right...

Sometimes I have difficulty even understanding him.

Something is way off.

[LittleClarkie]

35. Could he be over-medicated?

Anti-depressants or something like that?

[Hephaistos]

40. more likely Cipro

Possible side effects of Cipro include:
· seizures (read: pretzels)
· confusion or hallucinations

Remember, the White House started taking Cipro on September 11th.

Larry Klayman, chairman of Judicial Watch, said administration officials said last fall that some White House staff members had begun taking the antibiotic Cipro on Sept. 11, weeks before the anthrax attacks were made public.

"We believe that the White House knew or had reason to know that an anthrax attack was imminent or underway," Klayman said. "We want to know what the government knew and when they knew it."

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A15269-2002Jun7?language=printer

Maybe a nasty interaction made the effects permanent. The timing fits...

[newyawker99]

41. Hi Hephaistos!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[DemBones DemBones]

34. We should talk this up: Bush* seems to have early onset

Alzheimer's, or a similar condition, and is putting off a physical until after the election. That's outrageous! No one should vote for a man whose health is an unknown.

Americans should not have to go through another period with a senile president in office and his staff and family covering for him. It's just too dangerous, whether the president is a Democrat or Republican. If Bill Clinton had shown W's symptoms by the end of his first term, I wouldn't want him to have continued in office.

I support Kerry being checked, too, but we know that he has been, due to his prostate cancer surgery last year.

[crispini]

37. Dude, you're right. This is the new meme.

At the watercooler:
"Did you hear that Bush has put off his annual physical til after the election? I wonder why he did that. He sure hasn't been all that articulate lately... wonder if something's wrong with him?"

Really, though, I do wonder why he did that? leader of the free world and all, kinda scary!

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

38. Well, for heaven's sake don't pursue this...

I was just soundly told it wasn't important.

[Bridget Burke]

47. There have been many warnings lately....

People telling us that certain stories must be avoided. AWOL still leads the pack.

The damage that the Bush presidency has done--the damage four more years could do--& what he would do instead--should be the major thrust of Kerry's campaign. And the major talking points for us, up here in the peanut gallery.

But there are supplementary issues that are definitely worth some attention.

[crispini]

48. ???

Link?

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

52. Funny you should say "link"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=923068&mesg_id=923162&page=

[crispini]

53. Meh. Ignore them.

Some people are just rude.

IMO, Democratic "talking points" are great to have, but we're political junkies here... we want to know EVERYTHING, not just the talking points.

I engage in a LOT of political debates with undecideds and fencesitters in my life... this is just another arrow in my quiver to be whipped out when appropriate.

[Bridget Burke]

36. The difference is remarkable.

A few months ago, I saw a tape of campaign appearance from his run for Governor. He didn't say anything especially "intelligent" but he handled himself well. He was at ease, speaking casually.

Nowadays, he's incoherent. There are a number of possible causes. Too bad he doesn't feel like getting a physical before the election--I'd really like to know.

[sherilocks]

39. When he uses a teleprompter

he's more articulate and animated, especially when he's talking about war, bombs, violence, etc. When he uses a teleprompter and talks about domestic issues he is far less animated and seems less at ease, but he's still somewhat articulate. But he still has a strange slur to his speech that is getting worse. Take away his teleprompter and he has to rely on Rove's voice coming through his ear phone, his speech patterns get worse. Speaking off the cuff, he is downright painful to listen to and getting worse. His brain is definitely fried.

DUer should get on all the call-in shows and ask the question about the Bush's not taking a physical. The Repugs are doing it constantly about JK's health.

[chimpymustgo]

49. "Why is Bush not taking his physical?" Get it out there.

But back to the larger issue - I noticed the stunning difference in his previous debates and the way he speaks now. When did it happen? He was speaking coherently in October of 2000. But by 9/11/01, he was a babbling idiot. That's one year - or less. Does anyone have any recollection of when he started to lose it?

[magnolia]

50. YES...Absolutely yes!

There's a book out called "Bush on the Couch" written by a doctor...can't remember his name. A friend of mine read it and I saw the doctor on Topic A. Basically he says that Bush can't think. Literally, he has trouble processing any except the most simple information. That 7 minutes on 9/11 was him getting information and his brain shutting down because he couldn't process it all...so the doctor says.

Of course, anyone who is paying attention already figured all this out. It's a tradgedy really that not only half the general public, but media, many in government, people who are clearly intelligent, actually see his simple answers and simple message as being strong and resolute when in fact it means that he is simple-minded.
Dangerously simple-minded. His answers are short and concise and always on message because they are things he has memorized, not answers coming from his own thought process. A normal person who is asked a question and uses his brain to answer it will most likely vary the answer when he's asked it again....and again. Bush ain't normal.

[mopinko]

51. george, take the physical!! george, take the physical!!

george, take the physical!!
george, take the physical!!
george, take the physical!!
george, take the physical!!
george, take the physical!!
wish i wasn't busy to day, i woul dmake this into a button. maybe i can whip out a flyer to stick on the beat bush mobile.