Via Salon‘s War Room:
President Bush apparently thinks that being a gym bunny or a jogger is an important prerequisite for a Supreme Court position, as War Room noted earlier.
Jonathan Chait in a commentary in today’s L.A. Times asks: “Am I the only person who finds this disturbing? I don’t mean the fact that Bush would vet his selection for the highest court in the land in part on something utterly trivial. That’s expected. What I mean is the fact that Bush has an obsession with exercise that borders on the creepy.”
I think he’s obsessed with exercise because it’s the only thing he’s even remotely good at … except when he falls over. (Calling Bood! BOOD!)
Below, from Salon’s other report, a rather disturbing peek into how Bush’s obsession affects his judgment:
Poor Harvie.
OK, so it was a moment of idle chatter, right? Well, no, Bumiller writes. “Judge Wilkinson’s conversation with the president about exercise and other personal matters in an interview for a job on the highest court in the land was typical of how Mr. Bush went about picking his eventual nominee, Judge John G. Roberts, White House officials and Republicans said.”
— Salon (SUBSCRIPTION), reporting on a NYT story about how Bush decided on Roberts as his SCOTUS nominee.
but he can’t hide.
I hope.
That’s funny.
Funny! The truth be told, most alcoholic/addicts have the tendency once clean/sober to substitute that original addiction with another. Especially when they don’t go through any type of 12 step program. Just my opinion as one in recovery.
That’s why Bush is so addicted to war instead of alcohol. It is like a video game, only much larger of a scale. He talked about being on the phone with the battlefield commanders and getting info from them. That’s part of the problem. He sees the War in Iraq as a blow-by-blow account of a sports contest.
You’re right. I think he’s sees this as some kind of game-the ultimate power game-..and to that end he had those stupid playing cards he said he kept in his desk and everytime someone was caught or killed he crossed them off his list..as if once everyone on his list was dead it would be game over. No contingency plans for new people signing up to attack us or that was just not in his pretty-well not pretty-little head as being a possibility.
characteristics of someone suffering with “dry drunk”
syndrome.
He used religion as an “anger management” device to help him resist the urge to drink, but he never acknowledged the nature of the problem or admitted the need for a more thorough examination of how he came to have the substance abuse problems to begin with.
As a long-time recovering alcoholic, these patterns in Bush’s behavior are painfully obvious.
Now he’s using exercise as a way of working off steam, and a large part of that steam is generated by the fact that the religious stuff isn’t doing the job of keeping him calmed down anymore. He hasn’t admitted it yet, but the rhetorical sanctimony he’s relied on for so long is just not doing the trick anymore. His childish petulance, his return to revealing the kind of intolerance only the bewildered and confused can display, all of these are signs that his fragile structure of denial is no longer able to keep reality at bay.
If he makes it to the end of his term without having a serious emotional breakdown I’ll be surprised. (Unless, of course, Cheney puts him on some kind of mood altering, zombie medication).
Agreed. That’s been my take on him since 1999.
Even more frightening, the need for something to calm down the crazy energy, tamp down the excesses becomes greater as previous methods lose their effectiveness. Thus, each new method has to be stronger than the last.
Underneath it all, I suspect, is massive, overwhelming, staggering, disabling fear–of his mother, of being found out, of being incompetent in public (again), any number of other things. I think he is driven by these things and is totally without conscious choice in how he deals with life or in his acceptance of responsibility for the life he has created.
Here’s a question for everyone. Aren’t his medical records publicly available? Can we have a FOIA request for his records to see if he is prescribed anything.Not that they would ever go through the legal channels of getting script from a doctor…lol. I know not funny but this may also be something to try and dig up.
There’s no doubt that Bush is deeply disturbed and has serious dysfunctional characteristics as a result.
Also, as you suggest, there’s little reason to doubt that since Bush himself seems to have never gotten the kind of responsible help he needs, (help that would lead to self-examination as to the causes and conditions that led to his problems in the first place), it follows that in order to suppress these self-destructive impulses, (rather than seek to eliminate the reasons for having them in the first place), he will require increasingly more effective ways of strengthening his denial, or larger and larger doses of medication. But, regardless, neither of these tactics will achieve a solution. They’ll only postpone the advent of reality, and increase the latent volatility in Bush’s psyche in the process.
Nobody this unstable should ever have a job such as this.
First, I agree Bush has emotional and mental problems. They are easily observable.
Second, I don’t think we should worry too much about these problems, since Cheney is really the President.
Third, what is the diagnosis of Cheney? He doesn’t have any observable mental problems other than a complete lack of a human soul and a seemingly bottomless capacity for greed, murder, and deceit.
I think they both have personality disorders, W. just has some emotional problems on top of it. Organized versus disorganized sociopathic behavior.
What you’re describing as observable in Cheney is textbook sociopathy. He has no apparent conscience. His life purpose is simply to accrue more power. He will exploit anyone, leverage anything, and annihilate anyone or anything in his path and never lose a moment’s sleep.
The reason I think Bush’s evident dry-drunk behavior is important, is not because his hands are on the levers of power, but because of what it says about people who are close to him. He is surrounded by classic codependents and control freaks. Karen Hughes, for instance: maternal, protective, enabling, and deriving a sense of power from his weakness. There a lot of people who are heavily invested in Bush’s inability to function independently — Cheney for instance. He is the ultimate puppet.
It also gives some insight into the way congress and the press handle Bush. They never seem to want to hold him accountable for anything. I have long surmised that this is because he pushes buttons that are common to anyone who has grown up in alcoholic family. His inappropriate behavior is an “elephant in the living room,” that many people are wired not to see. If you grew up with a similar elephant, you will build bridges and tunnels around it to avoid ever acknowledging it. David Frum actually touches on this, without realizing it. He talks about how people around Bush are fiercely loyal, in part, because he does things that are blatantly inappropriate, in front of them. Frum doesn’t know it, but what he’s describing is “the shame that binds.”
Actually the entire country has become Bush’s dysfunctional family. We live from crisis to crisis. We are on the brink of financial ruin. There is endless drama. At heart, we’re scared of him, and interpret that fear as owing to his power over us. He’s a verbal abuser, creating a sense of fear and dependency in the populace. The world is a terrifying place and you need me to protect you. Now don’t piss me off, because you’ve seen what I do when I think of someone as an enemy.
My point is this. In discussing the many facets of Bush’s pathology, we’re really diagnosing ourselves, and trying to determine how to get out of the cycle of abuse that has come to characterize living in this country.
wow, really good comments on this thread, recordkeeper.
Wow what a great analysis.
If it weren’t so late here I’d write a longer response.
Yes, Cheney is a sociopath.
As far as Bush being the nation’s abusive father figure…exactly. People protected Reagan because he was the granddad who meant well but was slipping.
So everybody’s afraid of Bush but nobody’s willing to stand up to him. That’s a scary thought. I used to think that sooner or later, somebody would.
I’m still waiting.
One of the most egregious examples is your own Tony Blair. I would bet my bottom dollar that Blair’s father was an alcoholic/rageaholic. I say that because I’ve watched his body language when he appears with Bush. He’s scared of him, embarrassed by him, and feels a compulsive need to protect him. He’s classically ACOA. He lies when it’s just as easy to tell the truth. He can talk to several people at the same time, who disagree with each other, and they’ll all walk away thinking he agrees with them. He’s crossed that fine line from people pleaser to manipulator. And, he clearly associates rage behavior, which Bush exhibits in spades, with power, and placed himself in the pecking order, to derive power by association. They are a dangerous combination. They feed each others diseases.
You are correct–Tony Blair’s father, Leo Blair, had ambitions to stand for Parliament but suffered a stroke when Tony was 11 years old. After that, it is reported that Leo became an embittered man and turned to drink. Every biographer of Blair agrees that Leo’s stroke was a turning point in Tony’s life and affected him for life.
Blair’s teachers in school all remember him as an overachiever who was a royal pain in the arse. Blair was one of those students–like Bill Clinton–who had his fingers in every pie. The difference was that Clinton wrapped his overbearing competitiveness in a Southern American charm and Blair did not.
By the way, I’m in awe of Recordkeeper’s ability to intuit these truths about people. I don’t think I’m the only one, either!
I knew it! Thanks for the confirmation. The association with Bill Clinton has not escaped my notice, either. Bill Clinton has been very open about growing up in an alcoholic household, and his “I feel your pain” codependency is a something of a red flag. I have long surmised that this was part of why Tony Blair and he got on so well. They have some of this in common. But, from Bill Clinton, I sense a genuine sense of empathy. His life experience has granted him some sense of compassion that I don’t see in Tony Blair. His own demons play out in food and sex compulsions, that could well be addictive patterns. But, Blair scares me. He has a lot of rage. It’s just sublimated. In Bush, he’s found a mirror of his father and of his own rage, who compliments his darker ambitions. And, you’re right that hyper-achievement is common among ACOAs. It’s what is known as the “superhero” role adopted by many children of alcoholics. This page gives a good overview.
I would add only that Bush get’s lots of mileage out of what I think of as the “Village Idiot” effect. Most people don’t want to be seen to be making fun of or taking advantage of someone who’s obviously mentally or emotionally challenged. And Bush certainly fits this description; he’s an imbecile, and his range of emotional responses is quite narrow, typical of someone whose development has been arrested at a young age.
So far, Bush has been clicking along pretty nicely; surounded by enablers steeped in their own denial about him, but surrounded also by the predatory sociopaths like Cheney and Card and Rove, control freaks who ruthlessly exploit Bush’s cognitive and emotional deficiencies in order to advance their own agenda through him.
But now, people are starting to understand that their favorite “Village Idiot” is not such a benign endearing figure after all. And no one cuts any slack for a village idiot who displays meanness, disrespect for fellow citizens, or deliberate dishonesty. Now that Bush is revealing these aspects of his increasingly out of control personna, he’s losing the support of many who would otherwise remain sympathetic, and even Karl Rove hasn’t figured out how to neutralize that problem.
As for Cheney, as shadowthief says above, he shows no evidence that he has a human soul, and his ruthless pursuit and infatuation with his own insane agenda makes him the single most dangerous person in government, the single greatest threat to our way of life.
I would add only that Bush get’s lots of mileage out of what I think of as the “Village Idiot” effect. Most people don’t want to be seen to be making fun of or taking advantage of someone who’s obviously mentally or emotionally challenged.
I believe it was Eleanor Clift who said, this is the only president we “grade on a curve.” I think you’re absolutely right. There’s something about him that seems a little vulnerable. One woman told me she felt bad for him, the way the press goes after him in press conferences. When I pointed out that he was the president and should be qualified to handle a bit of stress, she couldn’t disagree with me, but she still felt sorry for him. I just wonder how many people feel that way when they look at his childish pouting, and obvious discomfort. I can tell you that as a former speech competitor, I cringe when I hear him speak. It makes me uncomfortable. But, I sure as hell wouldn’t give him a trophy, let alone the presidency.
describe too with people I know also. Several times I’ve put forward the idea that if Bush displayed even a little more awareness and intelligence than he does he’d be even more unpopular. Even though all the Bush supporters I’ve made this case to have categorically rejected it, I could always see where the point I made hit a resonant chord with them, even if they then chose to deny it.
I think the Bush regime is in big trouble now. Not because of the catastrophic warmongering, not because of their looting of the reasury or the rolling back ofenvironmental protections, not because of their callous disregard for the basic principles of democracy, not for any of these substantive and serious acts.
No, they’re in trouble because they have to find a way to refute the argument that Bush is either incompetent or a liar, and events have made it much harder for his handlers to defend him on one of these charges while not conceding the other. How can they create the impression that Bush’s defense of Rove is not based in either deceit or ignorance? I can only hope that the press will maybe start doing their job more diligently and challenge the transparently absurd spin about this stuff emanating from the propaganda machine, because the more people know they’re being lied to, the less sympathetic they’ll be to the whole gang of thugs running the show.
Skeeter: Bubba, your boy is pullin’ wings off flies.
Bubba (deep sigh): I know, but it ain’t his fault. His momma dropped him on his head when he was a baby.
Skeeter: Sure is a shame.
Bubba: That boy ain’t right in the head.
Which pretty much sums up the Bush presidency.
People don’t trust Bush any longer. The majority of Americans no longer trust him, and once that’s lost, it’s gone forever.
But I still say it’s Cheney who’s the dangerous one. Bush could be confused and set off balance–Cheney is a soulless bastard who has absolutely no limits on what he will do to achieve his ends. With Cheney, it’s a no-holds-barred-fight-to-the-finish, and I don’t see anybody out there tough enough to take him on.
One must match ruthlessness with ruthlessness; that’s why sociopaths like Cheney are so dangerous.
… kicks just keep gettin’ harder to find?
Exactamundo.
I think he’s already on drugs. I also believe he’s probably had some emotional breakdowns already and one that seemed public was the debate where he simply was not there. That was scary to see and he should have lost then and there. Don’t forget the infamous pretzel incident either..would really like to know when we’ll get the real story on that. His flying around all day on 9/11 must also have been because he is a chickenshit plus he was no doubt freaken out and couldn’t be seen in public.
And maybe if the press does start doing their job and shouting questions at him he will lose it in public for all to see..hope hope hope.
“If he makes it to the end of his term without having a serious emotional breakdown I’ll be surprised. (Unless, of course, Cheney puts him on some kind of mood altering, zombie medication).”
He is ALREADY on heavy meds. Bet on it.
My 89 year old mother, who taught emotionally disturbed and retareded second graders for 35 years (she retired in her early 80s) took one look at Bush during the debates and said “Why…he looks just like the kids who were medicated for A.D.D. Same tics, same expressions, same jerky movements, same tones of voice.”
Betcha…Dr. Big Brother is IN THE HOUSE!!!
AG
Bingo! That was my first thought when I read this piece. He’s an exercise junkie, and like his religious fanaticism, it’s the “safe” addiction that replaces alcohol. Strenuous exercise, among other things, releases endorphins. It’s also a way to feel very in control, and, apparently, a way to control the people around him. And, like most addicts, he’s splitting. Good people exercise. Bad people are fat and lazy. You’re with the physically disciplined or you’re against us.
also serves as an escape mechanism, a way to keep himself from thinking about all those complexities he’s not equipped to understand. Cults typically implement regimens designed to discourage thought in their followers, (things like overuse of meditation or chanting, for instance). The idea is to keep the followers ignorant and prevent them from asking difficult questions. And after a while, these hapless cult inductees become conditioned to eagerly engage in these mind numbing practises at the first sign of emotional discomfort or cognitive dissonance. In short, they seek release from discomfort through the mental oblivion these practises induce, and this is where Bush is with his exercise. As long as he can keep exercising, he can keep the fragile illusion of his own denial intact. And the longer his denial remains, the greater his dysfunctionality.
That line: “I think he’s obsessed with exercise because it’s the only thing he’s even remotely good at … except when he falls over.” really hit my funny bone.
could be that this just fits in with the Religious Reich’s view that the “imperfect” have no place in a Godly society — your “imperfections” are a reflection of your sinful nature and are GOD’s judgement.
In the Kingdom of Heaven, there will be no disease, no disability, no poverty — so in God’s Kingdom on Earth, such things must be eliminated as well, preferably by eliminating the sinners with those conditions…
Yeah, you’re probably right. Real Poisonwood Bible stuff.
Or a more sinister obsession with all that is blonde and blue-eyed.
The only other thing I can make of this exercise questioning is that he wants to make sure he’s healthy enough to live a long time to continue to screw this country.
Otherwise, this is just another example of why this moral and mental midget should never have been in the WH.
Maybe we should replace primaries with athletic contests.
Would surely speed Obama’s rise to the top of the ticket, no?
Im guessing he can run circles around Hillary, Vilsack, Edwards, et al.
He wants somebody in great physical shape so that person will avoid health issues and stay on the court to f*ck up America for as many decades as possible.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Which justices does he send to the trainers and which ones get Laura’s cookies.
Had I read thru the comments first, I would not have written a redundant post! (see above)
:<)
I finally checked out the LA Times article. It’s very good. Here’s one snippet:
I read that article also and the first thing that jumped out was the fact that ‘our’ President’s daily schedule isn’t made public-of course I can see why his handlers can’t really make his schedule public seeing as how he doesn’t really do anything until he’s briefed and pushed out to make some stupid statement.
As others have mentioned I’ve long thought his exercising obsession was a sublimation of his alcoholic or drug cravings as his bible thumping didn’t quite do the trick.
His asking exercise questions only proves once again how bankrupt this pretender truly is…next we’ll be hearing that he asked them what their favorite movie was….and if it’s not the stupid Austin Powers movies-which bush has said are his all time favorites-they’re in bigger trouble.
Exercise time = drinking/drugging time.
Bush used to spend his days stoned or drunk.
Now he spends his days exercising.
There’s little for him to do; Cheney is the real President and everybody “knows” it but few will come out and actually SAY it.
Cheney:
“Keep that idiot OUT OF MY SIGHT!!! I don’t care WHAT he is doing. Just keep the fool busy so’s he can’t fuck things up. Exercise? Fine. Then when we do have to trot him out he’ll look like a movie star. Great.”
AG
Hooked on booze.
Hooked on coke.
Hooked on Jesus.
Hooked on power.
Hooked on exercise.
Unless he’s monomaniacal about it, it’s almost not real to him.
What’s he running from?
Daddy.
BET on it.
AG
He is asking irrelevant and inane questions because that is who he is. On the other hand, while inept Bush is doing that, Karl Rove is manning the phones calling all the reps of the hard right wing:
emphasis mine.
That should tell us something about this nominee, he is their boy.
how shallow he is.
We all know that:
(1) Conservatives always demonize liberals for their own sins they are in deep denial about.
and:
(2) Conservatives always identify liberalism with “Hollywood elites.”
Well, now we have the connecting link: Bush is a character in a David Zucker script. The Naked Gun? Heck no! We’ve graduated to The Naked H-Bomb!
For gawd’s sake folks, the Court appointment is far too important to Management for them to have left it up to this airhead.
They either assigned Roberts to him, or they gave him a small moron-proof group to pick among.
…when Bush provides the real thing:
… rarely stop moving. Just sayin’.
As I was reading this thread, I kept thinking, “I wish he’d meditate.” I’m sure that would be impossible for him. But wonder what it’s like for him when he closes his eyes to go to sleep.
… by a conscience nor much creativity, he sleeps the sleep of the innocent, untroubled by dreams.
(sorry for the pun)
I love Jonathan Chait (he wrote that awesome piece on Bush hating and he supported the Iraq war like I did), but I can’t get behind him on this one. I guess I always found this to be one of Shrub’s few good points.
I’ve become a bit of a diet-and-exercise “freak” the last few years myself, and tend to evangelise about it. I just saw Super Size Me the other day for the first time, and though most of it was stuff I already knew I did learn that Illinois is the only state to require K-12 physical education. I guess I wouldn’t have a problem with seeing this type of “addiction” spread far and wide in this country (except in certain relatively rare cases where it is part of an eating disorder like anorexia).
-Alan
I mean I go to the gym every day. Can I get a seat on the court? Hmm, I’m probably a bit more liberal than what Bush would like. To be fair, exercise does seem to promote mental sharpness as well as physical conditioning so maybe whatever wingnut ultimately gets on the court will have a few moments of clarity on the treadmill and rule in our favor a few times. But it’s probably just what somebody said above, Bush wants someone who will give him 30, 40, 50 years of batshit insane decisions.
WOW
I’ve been gone since mid-morning and come back to these marvelous analyses. What a treat. Thanks.
ALSO:
The Left of the Dial blog has a wonderful essay today, “Consequences.”