I used to like George W. Bush. He seemed to me to be an honest, experienced, knowledgeable and affable person. A guy you could trust with your sister, your pocketbook, your political party, even your country.
But I don’t like Bush anymore. I don’t hate him either. How can you hate a man you pity?
Yes, pity.
Even before the end of his first term as President of the United States, Bush’s true colors (or rather his true mental condition) had begun to reveal itself. And like the manipulators of every age, the greedy suckerfish began attaching themselves to Bush and using his aberrant thinking and stubborn behavior to further their own treacherous agendas.
Bush’s mental condition (of which he himself is not consciously aware) was the perfect shield, a unique foil, the curtain behind from which the unholy gang, a.k.a. his administrative staff could operate in secrecy and with impunity— knowing full well that, since the buck stops at only one place, it would be incumbent upon Bush, and only Bush, to defend their decisions, however wrong they might be, and take the heat himself for all of it.
The suspicion that Bush might be mentally unbalanced didn’t even enter my mind until I became aware that he, by his own confession, was “converted”, and became a crusader, a destroyer of evil and a savior of nations, at the behest of God Himself, who Bush claimed ordered him to do so, during a moment of one-on-one, spiritual communication.
A more telling indication of Bush’s delusional thinking was when, prior to the invasion, Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, tried to talk Bush out of rushing into war with Iraq, to no avail. As if he, George, who dodged combat every chance he got, knew more about war than General Powell did.
At that time, I began to suspect that America might be stuck with a president who had mental problems. Not being a psychotherapist, there was no way for me to authenticate my suspicion, except by continued observation during the following months of what he said and did; and by discovering that other observers smarter than I were coming to the same conclusion.
It hardly needs restating that Bush’s propensity for endlessly mouthing the same rhetorical mantras and clichés, such as “axis of evil”, “staying the course”, “building a democracy”, “fighting terrorism”, “homeland security”, et al, all the while refusing to admit any mistakes or errors and ignoring the failings of a wrongfully imposed war, has every indication of a mind that is delusional at best, and at worst, borders on insanity, to wit: hearing voices, and/or not knowing right from wrong.
Another point. I respectfully call your attention to an article by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, president of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and author of the celebrated book “Speaking of Liberty.” In his article, “The Madness of President George”, Rockwell tellingly and convincingly makes the argument that George Bush is not just mad, but as president, madness makes him dangerous.
How does madness and danger come together? Being willfully ignorant of the failed policies in Iraq, but still cocksure that he is doing the right thing because “God is directing his every decision”, Bush fancies himself infallible. A sure sign of deviate thinking.
Moreover, danger reaches a new height when this person automatically heads the most powerful, best-armed nation in the history of the world. He has access to all the weapons. He has his finger on the button. And in Bush’s case, he has shown a willingness to use them against anyone he regards as an enemy. Obedience to God is his raison d’etre.
“Bush is alarming”, writes Rockwell, “because he is the kind of president who seems capable of blowing up the world and calling it good.”
Commenting on the president’s last news conference, Rockwell said that Bush spoke like someone out of touch with what everyone else knows. There was a riddle in every sentence, like he was speaking about another planet. Questioners were going easy on George, as if he were the nutty uncle at the family reunion who everybody knows is wacky, but they humor him because he is family. Thus, intones Rockwell, we must deal with the problem that George W Bush, our president, seems genuinely mad.
The dictionary says that mad means “suffering from a disorder in the mind deranged by violence, sensations, emotions, or ideas.” So is President Bush mad? According to Rockwell’s yardstick he is. But what do I think? Well, for those who care what I think, here it is.
George Bush may not be a raving maniac, but he is most certainly delusional. According to my American Heritage Dictionary, delusional means: “something that is falsely disseminated or believed. A false belief held in spite of invalidating evidence, especially as a condition of certain forms of mental illness.”
Given this definition, all of us at times in our lives reveal a degree of mental illness: we hold “false beliefs in spite of invalidating evidence.” It comes with the territory. As opinionated human beings we don’t like to admit when we’re wrong. And so we will fight tooth and nail to prove to the world how right we are. But in reality we delude ourselves, and even presidents are not immune to this human weakness.
Therefore, putting together all the evidence we see and hear of Bush, delusion certainly describes his mental condition. If this makes him “mad”, so be it. In any case, I agree with Rockwell that mental illness and presidential power do not mix. Which makes Bush too dangerous a man to be making life and death decisions for this country, and for the world.
In spite of depleting our military, burying us in debt, alienating our allies, warring against foreign cultures and religions, and at “God’s direction” ridding the world of evil, George keeps insisting that he is not wrong. So he will stay the course. “We’re not going to cut and run while I’m in the Oval Office.”
Fair enough. We will fix that come next November.
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”