Off the Telepromter /George W. Bush: A Man of His Words?

[Clinton Crusader]

http://www.counterpunch.org/landau10222004.html

Off the Telepromter
George W. Bush:
A Man of His Words? By SAUL LANDAU

The Presidential debates revealed aspects of Gorge W. Bush's
character that bear careful scrutiny--if not acute psychiatric care.
The media made much of his body language and facial expressions,
especially his reactions to John Kerry when his opponent appeared to
be scoring a direct hit when he accused Bush of "misleading the
American people."

In his 2000 encounters with Al Gore, Bush occasionally flashed
that "deer-caught-in-the-headlights" look, that befuddled, almost
pathetic expression of surprise. But he recovered to resume the
combative, jousting presence that his parents must have instilled in
him as "proper" for a young man with limited intelligence and
capabilities. Bush repeated phrases from his limited vocabulary. He
used some of them again, with modifiers, in the 2004 debates,
like "Leaders lead." This kind of proclamation often followed an
embarrassingly long pause in which Bush appeared to ponder whether he
should offer an Alfred E. Newman grin--"What, me worry?"--or resort
to the pugnacious posture with which he seems equally comfortable.

Bush's behavior led Professor of Social Work Katherine Van Wormer to
label him "a dry drunk," (October 11, 2002 Counterpunch) referring
to "a slang term used by members and supporters of Alcoholics
Anonymous and substance abuse counselors to describe the recovering
alcoholic who is no longer drinking, one who is dry, but whose
thinking is clouded. Such an individual is said to be dry but not
truly sober. Such an individual tends to go to extremes."

Before Bush led the nation to war against Iraq, he used terms
like "crusade" and "infinite justice," which he later withdrew as
inappropriate. But he seemed truly comfortable with "evil
doers," "axis of evil," and "regime change." This "bravado speak"
emanates from a man who drank and used drugs for years, a man that
addiction psychologists describe as nursing a deep, dark wound inside
him. Yes, Bush got "born again" in his early forties, but how does
"finding Jesus" account for his seeming unwillingness to admit that
he has made mistakes--claiming, for example, he had to invade Iraq
because it possessed weapons of mass destruction and tight links to
the terrorist Al-Qaeda? The 9/11 Commission, along with his own
weapons inspector, David Kay and finally the CIA have effectively
refuted those allegations.
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