Does Bush have ‘presenile dementia’?

Long before political Bush-bashing became popular, or even widely accepted, critics still jabbed him repeatedly for his speech. Books of “Bushisms”, videos of Bush’s misspeakings spliced together, and comedic reproductions of the man’s halting, confused language have always dominated the pop culture reception of the President.

I use the word President specifically because Bush didn’t always speak this way. As Governor, he had at least a modicum of eloquence, and certainly much more speech-giving poise. How could a skilled and well-prepared speaker become the awkward cannon-fodder mess of a President we have today?

Back in 2004, James Fallows, a former speechwriter for Jimmy Carter, weighed in on the Kerry/Bush debates. Fallows ended up ruminating, however, on the great disparity between Bush’s past speaking ability as Governor, and his blundering debating skills of the present. The initial, layperson’s diagnosis held that perhaps Bush had developed some kind of dyslexia.

But dyslexia doesn’t just pop up, out of nowhere, to plague a middle-aged man. Upon viewing the in-depth comparison of young Bush’s and old Bush’s speaking skills, some physicians saw the clear signs of presenile dementia. The connection broke when one such physician sent a letter to The Atlantic, saying:

“Bush’s problems have been developing slowly, and that just a decade ago he was an articulate debater, ‘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.’

Consider in contrast, the present: ‘the informal Q&As 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.’

Slowly developing cognitive deficits, as demonstrated so clearly by the President, can represent only one diagnosis, and that is ‘presenile demential’!”

This informal diagosis shook up the blogosphere, and inspired a few other doctors to give an opinion on Bush’s degenerating language ability. These distant, unofficial conclusions can tell us nothing for certain, of course, but they nonetheless pose an interesting matter to consider. To witness the “evidence” of presenile dementia yourself, check out this video, which compares speeches given by Governor Bush with President Bush.

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Erika Price

Erika is a PhD student in Social Psychology living in Chicago. Here on DI she most often writes about current events, psychology, skepticism, media and internet culture.

This Post Has 41 Comments

  1. Avatar of Erich Vieth
    Erich Vieth

    There are other potential explanations for Bush's ineloquence. Drug use/abuse, for example. Only those close to Bush would know whether that can be ruled out.

    The video link at the bottom of your post is dramatic evidence that Bush is not the same man that he was 10 years ago.

  2. Avatar of GoatCheez
    GoatCheez

    If you've had the pleasure of meeting George Sr. within the last ten years, then you can probably guess what's happening to the President. George Sr.'s senility packed it's bags quite some time ago – It's only a matter of time before W goes too.

  3. Avatar of David Johnson
    David Johnson

    Well, he's _demented_, at the very least. It is a good explanation as to why no _new_ information seems to affect his ideas/plans/etc. – he apparently literally can't process anything new.

  4. Avatar of Robb
    Robb

    You've overlooked one other plausible explanation. On occasions in the past an unexplained bulge was visible, suggesting something beneath Mr. Bush's coat. There was speculation it was a radio receiving device and someone on the sidelines was telling him how to respond to questions. That's a reasonable explanation of the silent pauses and blank expression on his face. Perhaps he's listening to the puppeteer, then stumbling over the words as he tries to put the suggested response or statement in his own words.

  5. Avatar of Sumner Wilson
    Sumner Wilson

    No!

    Bush doesn't have dementia. He has gotten by all his life, by being passed on through with no questions asked. In high school. In the Army, and now in the Presidency.

    He has gotten favors and ways to get around everything in his life, including basic grammar.

    But, shucks, it's not his fault. After all, how in hell could he have known back in elementary school that he would one day be made President of the United States.

    Shit, boys. Give this guy a break. Another one!

    Thanks,

    Sumner Wilson

  6. Avatar of C. Burnett
    C. Burnett

    I think he is preoccupied trying to protect the country, a matter that didn't distract Clinton. He also stammers trying to give honest answers to questions instead of smoothly lying about important issues. He probably thinks "is" has one simple definition. I am amazed at the lengths to which libs will go to discredit or ridicule him. If you want to see idiocy in action, look up Al Gore.

  7. Avatar of Ron
    Ron

    In my youngerdays I smoked a lot of pot. I thought that I could carry a conversation but in reality I was just blundering everything I was saying. Does this sound like anyone you know?

  8. Avatar of Mike
    Mike

    What if Bush is a genius acting like a dummy to fool the wise. He's got to be genius. He does'nt read much newspapers or read yet he knows what's going on in America and In Iraq. If that ain't genius I don't know what is.

  9. Avatar of Timothy
    Timothy

    I always have thought that Bush Jr. had serious problems; among which were lack of accuracy (honesty?); and intelligence that seems below average. However; the dementia diangnosis seems plausible as well.

  10. Avatar of Chicago Lee
    Chicago Lee

    It looks like they have him on pills. The strain is probably too much for him.

  11. Avatar of jasper sneed
    jasper sneed

    He speaks haltingly not because of drug use past or present (though such may well be the case), or because of dementia (though it may well exist). He speaks haltingly because he knows that since he has become president — and particularly since 9/11 — almost everything he says to the Amnerican people is a lie. He knows it's a lie when he's saying it, and the bare minimum shred of conscience he still manages to possess causes his brain to trip over his tongue as a result. You will notice Dick Cheney, a much more accomplished sociopath, has no such problem.

  12. Avatar of John
    John

    I don't think Bush has dementia. I don't know Bush, but I know some people who do know him and, without exception, they swear he's an extraordinary man, with above-average intelligence and strong moral character. They also say he's confronted with challenges as President that he never faced as Governor of Texas. From that, I can only conclude that the challenges are so serious that he has to be very careful in what he says. So, where he may seem disoriented when he speaks, it's simply a function of not wanting to compromise or undermine what he's doing to protect our interests. I admit this may seem a bit of a stretch. After all, Bill Clinton faced many of the same pressures and he never seemed at a loss for words or unable to string together a coherent sentence. I'd feel a lot better about Bush if he would just come clean about what these challenges really are and ask for the understanding of the American people. What is he so afraid to talk about?

  13. Avatar of cathi gordon
    cathi gordon

    C. Burnett: No wonder this president was re-elected if you are in any way an example of how lacking in basic critical thinking skills the public must be!!

  14. Avatar of James Pullen
    James Pullen

    It's possible that G.W. Bush's thinking and articulation problems have come about because of years of alcohol and drug abuse. The label "dry drunk" has often been applied to him. For a person with two Ivy League degrees he certainly doesn't come across as well educated. The fact that he is lacking in curiosity and doesn't seem to be well read ads, no doubt, to his problems and his inability to make connections. Our country will be better served once he leaves office.

  15. Avatar of Jim Wrightsman
    Jim Wrightsman

    About two years ago, I saw a tape of Bush speaking when he was governor and was immediately struck by how well he spoke as compared to his present day speeches. As a layman, I could only express my surprise and wonder if drug and alcohol use had scrambled his brains. I feel the experts are onto something which will express itself more over time. I do not expect to see Bush giving speeches as Clinton does.

  16. Avatar of Blackbyrd2
    Blackbyrd2

    C. Burnett: Yeah, Clinton wasn't distracted by anything, like impeachment hearings or anything. Gimme a break and try thinking for yourself instead of hewing to the party line for once.

    I personally think Bush's incompetence and 'stupidity' is a ploy, designed originally to garner him votes from people who then viewed him as Everyman, no smarter than them. Nowadays he maintains it because it allows him to be taken for incompetent rather than simply amoral and self-centered. He clearly views himself as above the law and above the Constitution, and this pretense allows him time to complete his various plans and projects while people try to show him the errors of his ways, instead of taking action to remove him from office. He already knows that his policies are bad for the US, but they're good for big business, and that's all that matters.

  17. Avatar of Mike Johnson
    Mike Johnson

    Where in the world do stories like this come from? The pure unadulterated hatred people have for George Bush is amazing. The man is President of the United States and is doing everything he can to keep us alive. I wonder where he finds the strength to continue. I would be tempted to tell of you to piss off. In fact, why don't all of just piss off?

  18. Avatar of Erika Price
    Erika Price

    Blackbyrd makes a good, and so far unmentioned point: for a long time during his campaign and Presidency, the Bush team made his little flubs marketable. It made him look like the kind of down-to-earth guy that so many voters said they would want to have a beer with. He very well may play up his tendency to misspeak and mispronounce to make himself more endearing.

    Also, because he has such a reputation for speech errors, people that thrive on fruitless, nonpolitical Bush-bashing may scour his speeches with particular attention to his mistakes. Anyone that speaks as often as a world leader will make some noticeable errors, and confirmation bias can make it easy to point out only the errors and ignore the decent speech. This seems unlikely in Bush's case, though, because he used to speak well.

    But I also feel compelled to criticize the comedic Bush-bashers. Railing on Bush for silly things like the fact that he mispronounces and mixes words doesn't do anything- it lets us laugh at Bush, call him stupid and dislike him without actually passing any judgment on policies and actual leadership ability. It strikes me as massively juvenile to overlook all of his Administrative bungles just so we can have a laugh at inconsequential things. And furthermore, such nitpicking just makes "liberals" look like bullies.

    Of course, if Bush's degeneration stems from drug or alcohol abuse, then we deserve to know, and we actually have very valid ground for criticism.

  19. Avatar of Julie
    Julie

    I watched the video and was terribly moved. I've worked with dementia patients and they had plenty in common with what I saw on the footage – stumbling over common words, searching for synonyms because they couldn't think of the correct words, blank stares and trailing sentences. I'm from Australia, and we think Dubya's a bit of joke anyway, but to see this amount of deterioration is very sad – or would be if he wasn't in charge of the free world. Then it's just downright scary….

  20. Avatar of stan prakas
    stan prakas

    THIS IS ONE DANGEROUS MAN, IN CHARGE OF A COUNTRY

    THAT SHOULD TAKE HIM OUT OF OFFICE ASAP!!!!

    HE NEEDS TO BE RUNNING A SMALL CONVENIENCE STORE

    SOMEWHERE IN HIS HOME STATE!!!

  21. Avatar of Kima
    Kima

    I doubt dementia would be the explanation for why President Bush, when first testing the waters about running for President, was unable to give the name of his "good friend," Pervez Musharraf, when asked in an on-air interview who the head of Pakistan was. It was clear he knew nothing about international politics at the time, and he's proven he is still as ignorant!

  22. Avatar of Shana
    Shana

    What ever happened to respect? Does anyone consider the amount of stress that goes with his position as PRESIDENT of the United State? He is our Commander and Chief, WE voted him into office… Show him the respect that should come with being a human being. All the president bashing is only teaching our kids that it's okay to disrespect people with any kind of authority. Is that what we want our children to learn? I know I don't.

  23. Avatar of Jim Hart
    Jim Hart

    The reason George Bush Jr. is in office today is because he is the mirror image of all the sheeple that voted for him.

    I knew he would be a disaster before he ever took office. He's the reason I am now an ex-patriot; living overseas.

    J.H.

  24. Avatar of Steve Seivers
    Steve Seivers

    It has been suggested that Bush is a sociopath based upon the animal cruelty he did while growing up. I've read that he is what we used to call marginally mentally retarded based upon his test scores. People have claimed that he fried his brain on cocaine in the eighties. I've also read that he exhibits the tendancies of a "dry drunk". Now there are reports that he is suffering from dementia and that Cheney's personality has changed dramatically since his heart attack. So, who's running this country anyway? Just as scary, who is defending them?

  25. Avatar of US Citizen
    US Citizen

    As a born and raised us citizen…tax paying and all of that jazz…people who take up for prez Bush, should take a hard look at who and what they are defending. The man has no moral fibers in his body. He has sold out this country for greed and power. People are starving…homeless…barely making ends meet while he sits in that oval office making millions off of the oil and gas market. This man is beyond redemption and does not have the american people's best interest in heart. Crime is going up in this country for the fact..people are doing what it takes to survive and feed their families. New Orleans still looks like crap and people still are fretting the next hurricane. While Paris Hilton and Libby get out of doing time b/c of who and what they are… GOD BLESS AMERICA!

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