The Prez’s Mental Problems: Does it Matter?

I have been harping on the fact that the Prez has slipped a cog and that his impairment has been going on for awhile now. On February 4th, the White House posted a transcript of remarks President Bush made in a “press event” at the Tampa FL Convention Center. Present were members of the Amen corner (AFL-CIO, ACORN, AFSCME, etc.). The Prez answered questions and explained his plans for Social Security. Why the White House published this transcript is beyond me. The President hadn’t the foggiest notion what he was talking about. He wasn’t making sense and he knew he wasn’t making sense. Following is one segment of his conversation with the folks in Tampa. A woman asked about the cost of the transition to private accounts. The Prez said, “It's estimated about $600 billion over a 10-year period of time to get the personal accounts started on the -- the way we've suggested they grow. It's a good question.” The woman persisted and said she couldn’t understand how the new plan was going to fix the problem. Bush answered, “Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculate, for example, is on the table; whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to what has been promised. "Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, as opposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red. Okay, better? I'll keep working on it.” And my question is: Does it matter that the President’s brain is not functioning? Since he isn’t the one making the policies or even the tiniest of decisions--all the heavy thinking and deciding is done by Rove/Cheney/Wolfowitz--does it matter that Bush’s brain is impaired? Does it even matter why his brain is impaired? Interestingly, one of the readers of Ratfuck Diary said that an article ran in Atlantic just before the debates that claimed the Prez had all the signs of early Alzheimer’s. Others, including me, think he’s had a stroke. We’re not talking about dyslexia, which the Bush apologists say he is afflicted with. People with dyslexia can think and reason just fine. They have difficulty with the written word not with lucidity and understanding. Does it matter that when George Bush meets with leaders of other countries he can’t put together a simple cogent sentence on his own? Does it matter that he can’t understand the policies he is advancing? Does it matter that he makes jokes and smirks to cover up his thinking difficulties? Yes. It matters because his mental problems are not improving. Being wired to brains that actually function didn’t help him during the debates. His meds aren’t giving him the boost in mental acuity he needs--they may even be the reason he’s begun to slur words on occasion. And the solution is what? In the end, it’s up to the Republicans to take care of their biggest problem--George W. Bush. And they will. The GOP is venal, corrupt, mendacious, grasping and arrogant. But merciful it isn’t.