BUSH'S INCREASING MENTAL LAPSES AND TEMPER TANTRUMS CAUSE WORRY

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Bush's Increasing Mental Lapses and Temper Tantrums Worry White House

Aides

By DOUG THOMPSON

Nov 2, 2005, 05:26

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An uncivil war rages inside the walls of the West Wing of the White

House, a bitter, acrimonious war driven by a failed agenda, destroyed

credibility, dwindling public support and a President who lapses into

Alzheimer-like periods of incoherent babbling.

 

On one side are the dwindling numbers of die-hard loyalists to

President George W. Bush, those who support his actions and decisions

without question and remain committed to both Bush and scandal-

scarred political advisor Karl Rove.

 

On the other side are the increasing numbers of those who say Rove

must go and who worry about the President's declining mental state

and his ability to restore credibility with Congress, our foreign

allies and the American people.

 

The war erupted into full-blown shout fests at Camp David this past

weekend where decorum broke down in staff meetings and longtime aides

threatened to quit unless Rove goes. Insiders say Chief of Staff

Andrew Card now leads the anti-Rove legions and has told Bush that he

wants out of the high-pressure job.

 

White House staff members say the White House is " like a wartime

bunker " where shell-shocked aides hide from those who disagree with

their actions and office pools speculate on how long certain senior

aides will last.

 

Bush, whose obscenity-laced temper tantrums increase with each new

setback and scandal, abruptly ended one Camp David meeting by telling

everyone in the room to " go fuck yourselves " before he stalked out of

the room.

 

Senior aides describe Bush as increasingly " edgy " or " nervous "

or " unfocused. " They say the President goes from apparent coherent

thought one moment to aimless rambles about political enemies and

those who are " out to get me. "

 

" It's worse than the days when Ronald Reagan's Alzheimer's began

setting in, " one longtime GOP operative told me privately this

week. " You don't know if he's going to be coherent from one moment to

the next. What scares me is if he lapses into one of those fogs

during a public appearance. "

 

Aides say Bush, who has always had trouble focusing during times of

stress, is increasingly distant during meetings, often staring off

into space during discussions on the nation's security and other

issues.

 

Card has responded to the crisis by cutting back on the number of

staff members with direct access to the President and jumping in to

answer questions when Bush's mind wanders.

 

" Some people say Karl Rove is `Bush's brain,' " says one increasingly-

concerned West Winger. " Well Andy has become the President's voice.

He's there to speak when the President seems unable to find form an

answer. "

 

Bush's mental state is a hot topic on Internet blogs and has

increased since this web site disclosed last year that the White

House physician had placed the President on anti-depressant

medication – a story the administration never denied. Others,

including prominent psychiatrists like Dr. Justin Frank of George

Washington University, wonder if Bush, an admitted heavy drinker who

claims he quit without any professional help, is hitting the bottle

again.

 

An increasing number of mainstream media outlets, including Newsweek,

The Washington Post and the New York Daily News recently confirmed

our earlier reports about Bush's temper tantrums.

 

" Bush usually reserves his celebrated temper for senior aides because

he knows they can take it, " the Daily News reported. " Lately,

however, some junior staffers also have faced the boss's wrath. "

 

" This is not some manager at McDonald's chewing out the help, " a

source with close ties to the White House told the paper. " This is

the president of the United States, and it's not a pleasant sight. "

 

Bush loyalists claim the President can survive his current spate of

political troubles and emerge stronger than ever but an increasing

number of White House aides express increasing doubt. Some even go so

far as to speculate if the President's deteriorating mental condition

can survive another three years in office.

 

" The President has lost his focus, his ability to govern and the

trust of the American people, " says one longtime GOP

operative. " Those are things that are difficult to recapture when

you're on top of your game and this President has taken one too many

blows to the head. "

 

 

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