Thursday, October 14, 2004
Now, ordinarily I'd be the last one to make fun of a sick man...
... but then Bush can afford to get sick, can't he?
And I'd also be the last one to make fun of a stroke survivor, since one of my parents had one, and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. That said—
Froomkin laid down a few dots, quoting media observers:
And AmericaBlog and his alert readers saw the same things, and connect those dots:
Remember the theory that the Bush Bulge is a wearable defibrillator? Turns out that there's a Bush family history (41) of atrial fibrillation, which is a cause of stroke. And it may well be—is there a doctor in the house?—that the wearable defibrillator is the only possible medical treatment; I can't imagine it would be safe to keep Bush on Coumadin, for example, since that's very sensitive to diet, and politicians on the road have very poor diet.
So, if indeed Bush is a recent stroke survivor, that would be a good explanation of the Bush Bulge.
But suppose Bush is a long-term stroke survivor? And at risk of another one at any time? That would explain (a) why the Bush campaign only lets loyalists near him—after all, when you sign a loyaly oath to get into a rally, you're hardly likely to mention the spittle—as well as (b) Bush's frequent and lengthy vacations, and (c) all those curious little spasmodic incidents, like the pretzel thing, and Bush falling off his bike (and then lying about it; his people must have been rattled). A long term history of strokes would also explain Bush's marked deterioration in verbal skills since His debates with Anne Richards.
Doesn't the country deserve to know the results of a Bush medical exam before the election, and not after? (Remember that Bush avoided taking his medical exam, just a week ago)
Bottom line with me is: The Republicans are ruthless and so desperate to hold onto power; and Bush himself wouldn't know the truth if it bit him in the ass. If Bush doesn't have a clean bill of health, we'll never know. How can we get to the bottom of the mystery? In 19 days? Readers?
NOTE A medical history of Bush here (via Kevin Drum)
And I'd also be the last one to make fun of a stroke survivor, since one of my parents had one, and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. That said—
Froomkin laid down a few dots, quoting media observers:
Jeff Zeleny and Rick Pearson write in the Chicago Tribune: "As Bush spoke, television screens showed
a bubble of saliva on the right side of his mouth."
James Bennet writes in the New York Times that Bush's "smile was askew for about half the debate, marred by a glistening light dot at the right corner of his
mouth."
And AmericaBlog and his alert readers saw the same things, and connect those dots:
His left side of [Bush's] mouth is drooping down, it's as if he had a stroke or something. ... Numerous observers here with me, and in the chat, said they saw drool at the beginning of the debate (again, I'm serious). There's something wrong with his face tonight and he's not admitting it.
(via AmericaBlog)
Remember the theory that the Bush Bulge is a wearable defibrillator? Turns out that there's a Bush family history (41) of atrial fibrillation, which is a cause of stroke. And it may well be—is there a doctor in the house?—that the wearable defibrillator is the only possible medical treatment; I can't imagine it would be safe to keep Bush on Coumadin, for example, since that's very sensitive to diet, and politicians on the road have very poor diet.
So, if indeed Bush is a recent stroke survivor, that would be a good explanation of the Bush Bulge.
But suppose Bush is a long-term stroke survivor? And at risk of another one at any time? That would explain (a) why the Bush campaign only lets loyalists near him—after all, when you sign a loyaly oath to get into a rally, you're hardly likely to mention the spittle—as well as (b) Bush's frequent and lengthy vacations, and (c) all those curious little spasmodic incidents, like the pretzel thing, and Bush falling off his bike (and then lying about it; his people must have been rattled). A long term history of strokes would also explain Bush's marked deterioration in verbal skills since His debates with Anne Richards.
Doesn't the country deserve to know the results of a Bush medical exam before the election, and not after? (Remember that Bush avoided taking his medical exam, just a week ago)
Bottom line with me is: The Republicans are ruthless and so desperate to hold onto power; and Bush himself wouldn't know the truth if it bit him in the ass. If Bush doesn't have a clean bill of health, we'll never know. How can we get to the bottom of the mystery? In 19 days? Readers?
NOTE A medical history of Bush here (via Kevin Drum)
