From the FOOL
A couple of days ago, a friend of 30 years called me to read me a piece he had written about the debate. To my surprise, his thesis is that Bush suffers from early stage Alzheimers. As he requested it is posted below:
"As the son of an Alzheimer's victim, I watched the presidential debate with a growing sense of unease. Something about the demeanor of President Bush left me unsettled and sleepless. I talked with my wife. She never knew my father, but had been forced to deal with a victim of early onset Alzheimer's at her work. I talked with my mother in Clearwater, Florida, who had been my father's primary caregiver in his declining years. I even talked to a client, a registered nurse, who commented that the President's performance had been the primary subject of conversation at the hospital where she worked. Every person I spoke with after the presidential debate who had experience in dealing with Alzheimer's victims either confirmed my impressions or had independently reached the same conclusions.
Alzheimer's is an incidious disease, gradually stripping the victim's ability to reason while leaving a veneer of social skills with which the victim tries to cope with an increasing confusing world. My father, as an example, was able to greet people and engage them appropriately in social settings long after he lost his ability to communicate his thoughts or even to operate a simple calculator. "Glad to see you," followed by a strong handshake. "How are you?" "How about this weather?" "What's for dinner?" Simple fare for conversation but effectively disguising his inability to understand or to empathize from all but the most discerning. Never mind that he did not realize I was his son or that the woman in the kitchen was his wife of forty years.
The symptoms of early Alzheimer's were so apparent to me, I thought it must be obvious to everyone else too. On several occasions, President Bush had lengthy pauses before starting his response. Maybe his debate advisors had failed to anticipate the question; more likely he needed the extra time to process the question. On several occasions, President Bush gave nonresponsive answers to questions asked. Maybe he did not hear the questions; more likely he did not properly understand the point the questioner was raising. When he did respond, President Bush gave responses that were almost repetitive. How many times did President Bush say "hard work" or "wrong war" or "mixed message"? Were these just his talking points or were we listening to the same story over and over and over again?
But three things stand out. Every one of them, individually, made me wince, made me pity President Bush, made me personally embarrassed that the presidential debate was broadcast worldwide. The response in which President Bush answered, "It takes a lot of hard work ..." ad infinitum. The response in which President Bush called President Putin "Vladimir" three or four times in succession. The rebuttal to Senator Kerry's remark that preemptive action should pass the stink test in which President Bush said he would never ask for a permission slip. Could the President really not think of anything to say but that it takes hard work? Could the President really not remember President Putin's name or that international decorum required that an official title be used? Could the President really not understand that preemption did not require permission but that it did require justification? This is not the same George W. Bush that America elected four years ago.
The weekend passed. Presidential advisors said President Bush performed above expectations. Really, that was above their expectations? Presidential apologists said President Bush was "over-prepared" or tired. I have to challenge that. Tiredness can accentuate the symptoms of early Alzheimer's disease.
There is something in the face of President Bush, something that some are calling a "sneer" that is all too familiar to anyone who has seen it before. It is a forced smile, a frozen smile. It is a mechanism that my father had. It is meant to hide what would otherwise be a look of desperation, to cover that "deer in the headlights" _expression that otherwise appear when an Alzheimer's victim is searching for understanding, for comprehension, for something to say.
Is this why President Bush does not give real press conferences? Is this why President Bush secrets himself away from public view and the press?
All weekend I waited for the political pundits to discuss what was so obvious to me and to others I know. Perhaps they were taken in by the Republican spinmeisters? Perhaps it is a quiet secret to be hidden from public view like Roosevelt's wheelchair? Perhaps it would be bad for the stock market? Perhaps political pundits are so busy with travelling and talking points and makeup artists, that they have not taken the time to care for an Alzheimer's victim?
But this is serious and it needs to be discussed. America needs a president that is alert and cognizant of the world around him. If we are electing President Bush's team to manipulate President Bush through the next four years, let's say so. If we are electing Vice President Cheney to succeed President Bush when President Bush can no longer remember his name, let's say so. But let's us get it out in the open. |
