Baculus Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 I'm just the messenger - an article that discusses the purported psychological issues of Bush. Believe it, or not. Is Bush Out of Control? By DOUG THOMPSON Aug 15, 2005, 05:46 http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7218.shtml Buy beleaguered, overworked White House aides enough drinks and they tell a sordid tale of an administration under siege, beset by bitter staff infighting and led by a man whose mood swings suggest paranoia bordering on schizophrenia. They describe a President whose public persona masks an angry, obscenity-spouting man who berates staff, unleashes tirades against those who disagree with him and ends meetings in the Oval Office with “get out of here!” In fact, George W. Bush’s mood swings have become so drastic that White House emails often contain “weather reports” to warn of the President’s demeanor. “Calm seas” means Bush is calm while “tornado alert” is a warning that he is pissed at the world. Decreasing job approval ratings and increased criticism within his own party drives the President’s paranoia even higher. Bush, in a meeting with senior advisors, called Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist a “god-damned traitor” for opposing him on stem-cell research. “There’s real concern in the West Wing that the President is losing it,” a high-level aide told me recently. A year ago, this web site discovered the White House physician prescribed anti-depressants for Bush. The news came after revelations that the President’s wide mood swings led some administration staffers to doubt his sanity. Although GOP loyalists dismissed the reports an anti-Bush propaganda, the reports were later confirmed by prominent George Washington University psychiatrist Dr. Justin Frank in his book Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. Dr. Frank diagnosed the President as a “paranoid meglomaniac” and “untreated alcoholic” whose “lifelong streak of sadism, ranging from childhood pranks (using firecrackers to explode frogs) to insulting journalists, gloating over state executions and pumping his hand gleefully before the bombing of Baghdad” showcase Bush’s instabilities. “I was really very unsettled by him and I started watching everything he did and reading what he wrote and watching him on videotape. I felt he was disturbed,” Dr. Frank said. “He fits the profile of a former drinker whose alcoholism has been arrested but not treated.” Dr. Frank’s conclusions have been praised by other prominent psychiatrists, including Dr. James Grotstein, Professor at UCLA Medical Center, and Dr. Irvin Yalom, MD, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University Medical School. As a recovering alcoholic (sober 11 years, two months, nine days), I know all too well the symptoms that Dr. Frank describes and, after watching Bush for the past several years, I have to, unfortunately, agree with him. Conversations over the last few weeks with longtime friends who work in the Bush White House confirm even more what Dr. Frank says and others have suggested. The President of the United States is out of control. How long can the ship of state continue to sail with a madman at the helm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 Gee ,and from such a stable source:laugh: Nothing like a analysis from afar ,by someone pushing a book. C'mon Bac...you can do better than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Monk Fan Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 I read it twice to make sure I wasn't missing something, but it seems to me that Dr. Frank wrote an entire book analyzing a man he's never met. He "diagnosed" a man he's never personally interviewed, after he was already "unsettled" by hime and "felt he was disturbed." Shouldn't a doctor begin an analysis without preconceived conclusions? How about actually meeting the subject? This guy's license should be revoked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 I am no fan of our president. But this was just a hit piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 Bill Frist has studied two minutes of Bush videotape, and pronounced him completely cured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingtiger1013 Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 Originally posted by Larry Bill Frist has studied two minutes of Bush videotape, and pronounced him completely cured. I was thinking about that also. Frist got reamed for doing the same thing this guy did. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius J. Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 This seems like a joke. Is this from the onion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 I also resent his exploding frogs comment. It was cheap entertainment...nothing more. Dang people try to take ALL the fun out of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baculus Posted August 15, 2005 Author Share Posted August 15, 2005 One thing about this guy - he does not apologize for his views. Nor is he partisan, since he seems to dislike both parties quite a bit. Agree or disagree with him, he does have a long resume of work as a journalist, so he isn't just a "basement loon." He just has little patience to mince words. I have no idea if Bush is indeed angry or "crazy," but I do feel that he has taken some actions that brings into question his sanity or the sanity of his administration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamingwolf Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 when has being a journalist every been a qualifier for someone not being a basement loon, theres plenty of nutty journalists out there regardless their slant, paper, or country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baculus Posted August 15, 2005 Author Share Posted August 15, 2005 And regarding the psychiatrist, Dr. Justin Frank, making observations about Bush from afar, it's not uncommon for behavior to be observed from a distance. After all, that is what police do at times, as well as psychiatrist when observing patient behavior. Also, what about the storyline of the President being prescribed anti-depressants? When it comes down to it, we also only know the President from afar, so that does not mean our own analysis of the President may be on target. After all, this journalist claims to have talked to "insiders" that have described the President's behavior. Keep in mind that Clinton was known for having anger issues, and it's entirely possible that Bush may suffer the same problems. And he probably wouldn't be the first President that was on some sort of pills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gichin13 Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 Ah, the video diagnosis. Always effective for selling books. Nice pick up on the Frist commentary and parallel guys, that is why I like this group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baculus Posted August 15, 2005 Author Share Posted August 15, 2005 By the way, this doctor spent more then two minutes watching a Bush video, so it really isn't comporable to the Frisk comments. They're not good comparisions at all. That isn't to say this guy's research is on the mark - it may or may not be accurate - but he spent a lot more time then two minutes on his study. I remember reading this interview with one of Bush's former fraternity brothers. To this day, the guy despises Bush for his cruelty during the frat rush week, when Bush would seemingly enjoy some of the initiations performed on the new members. (They guy claimed to have scar marks still left over from Bush burning him with a cigarette.) Who knows...who knows... A bit more about the book from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060736704/104-7373752-9651146?v=glance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 Pushing a book are yah Bac.. Go to the "Most thought provoking thread"... probably do better over there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Sick Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 This just came out? I thought I remember reading this a couple of years ago. Maybe the book is in its second printing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueTalon Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 Originally posted by Larry Bill Frist has studied two minutes of Bush videotape, and pronounced him completely cured. LOL!!! that was witty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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