-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.radix.net/~tarpley/bush25.htm <A HREF="http://www.radix.net/~tarpley/bush25.htm">Bush book: Chapter -25-</A> --[25b]-- As will shortly become clear, there would have been good reason to investigate Bush's frequent episodes of apoplectic rage as a causal factor in the autoimmune disorders of his immediate family circle. The most likely explanation for the afflictions of Millie and Barbara is that they were both driven frantic by George's obsessive and rage-filled outbursts in the White House family quarters. This may have included various forms of mental and even physical abuse. The emotional trauma of living with George would be more than enough to produce autoimmune problems in those around him. Perhaps in an attempt to distract attention from this highly plausible path of investigation, Marilyn Quayle was sent forward to tell CNN of a plan to test the water at the vice president's residence at the Naval Observatory, where George and Barbara had lived for eight years before moving to the White House. Mrs. Quayle told the media that Bush's White House physicians had "ordered all sorts of tests" on the water in the vice president's residence, which is over a century old. "Obviously there is a little bit of concern," said Mrs. Quayle. "It seems a little bit much of a coincidence. I don't worry overmuch about it, but I think it's something that does bear looking into." Mrs. Quayle added that she hoped the results of the tests "relieve a lot of people's minds-- definitely, I hope they relieve mine." What Marilyn Quayle was referring to was part of a program to test the water at the White House, the Naval Observatory, Camp David, and Kennebunkport. Sanitary engineers were said to be looking for concentrations of iodine and lithium, two chemicals which had been linked to thyroid disorders. Bush's doctors later said that they had ordered the tests in the hopes of uncovering clues to the remarkable coincidence of three autoimmune disorders in the Bush household, including the dog Millie. Bush's pose was one of studied skepticism: "You're kidding," he told reporters. "I'm not going to lose confidence in the water at the White House until we know a little more about this," Bush said. In any case, the water at the White House "tasted fine to me." [fn 33] During the visit of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Bush described himself as "dead tired" on one occasion during the visit. During a May 20 press conference with Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany, Bush spoke with a raspy voice, and his attention seemed to wander. When asked about his poor performance with Kohl, Bush conceded that he had experienced "slowing down on the mental processes." On more than one occasion, he seemed to lose his train of thought during answers to the questions of the journalists. The raspy voice was still noticeable in a press conference on May 21. On that same day, the White House announced the results of what was billed as Bush's first complete checkup since the day he swallowed radioactive iodine. The White House said that Bush had lost a total of 13 pounds since the onset of the crisis, but had managed to gain back a pound and a half. Tests showed that Bush's thyroid functions were now in the low-normal range, it was further alleged. Doctors tried to explain away Bush's fatigue by saying that it reflected the body's adjustment to a thyroid gland which was overactive less than two weeks before, but had now possibly become underactive as a result of the radioactive iodine therapy, which had destroyed many thyroxin-producing cells. By this point, Bush was still taking digoxin, procainamide, Coumadin, aspirin, and non-radioactive iodine drops. These last, it was said, were designed to reduce the amounts of thyroxin entering the bloodstream. [fn 34] Bush was in Kennebunkport for Memorial Day, and the White House propaganda machine was churning out the line was that he was now well on his way to complete recovery. "I'm sleeping much better and I really do feel good and I wish I had about four more days here," Bush told the press. "Been taking a little sleep after lunch here, which is good. Been sleeping very well." During this weekend, Bush tried fishing at nine of his favorite locations. On Sunday, May 26, Bush played a total of 27 holes of golf. Reporters found that he was back to his old ways as he "circled the golf course like a man on a merry-go-round." When he "passed the 18th hole once again on this vacation, he exuberantly flung a golf club at his cart and looked horrified when it nearly hit one of his Secret Service guards." According to press reports, Bush was still suffering from dryness of mouth. He had reduced his intake of caffeine, and of alcohol. On Monday, May 27, Bush traveled to New Haven to speak at the Yale commencement, and lost three pounds due to the rigors of the trip. On Tuesday, after he had returned to Kennebunkport, he told reporters: "Yesterday I got a little tired at the end of the day, and today I feel fine. You have to pace yourself a little." [fn 35] Bush's speech at the Yale commencement was devoted to a pugnacious defense of his China policy, the policy of the kow-tow to the butchers of Beijing. In the words of one observer: "George Bush's address to the Yale graduating class was more like a tantrum than a speech. In it, he was defiant about renewing most-favored- nation trading status for the Chinese, and crushingly condescending to the opposition he faces. [...] The resolute commander-in-chief sounded like the querulous candidate of yesterday. He can do what he wants, talk out of both sides of his mouth and stage a preemptive strike on critics who say his position is immoral." [fn 36] On Wednesday, May 29, Bush proposed a freeze on the purchase and production of surface-to-surface missles in the Middle East. On this day Bush was again out on the golf course, and questions about his health were raised once again by his ghastly personal appearance, which was best conveyed by a photograph appearing on the front page of the London Financial Times of Thursday, May 30. After the beginning of June, references to Bush's atrial fibrillation and thyroid crisis become exceedingly rare, a tribute to the power of the Brown Brothers, Harriman/Skull and Bones networks. On September 5, Burton Lee announced that he had halted Bush's daily doses of procainamide and digoxin shortly after the middle of August. But Bush continued to take daily doses of coumadin to prevent blood clots, medication to replace lost thyroid hormore production, and aspirin every other day, also to prevent blood clots. This announcement came at the end of Bush's 29 day vacation in Kennebunkport. The White House spin was that Bush "appears to have overcome weight loss and fatigue associated with the thyroid condition, called Graves' disease, and treatment for it." [fn 37] Then, in mid-September, Bush underwent a two-hour medical examination designed to provide a "medical stamp of approval" for Bush's health as he prepared to run for re- election in 1992. "I gotta prove I'm well," said Bush as he went in for the checkup. According to Dr. Burman, "the president has been restored to his normal vigorous state of good health." Lee said that all tests had showed Bush's heart functions to be normal; he also claimed that there had been no recurrence of atrial fibrillation after May. Bush had commented in August that the only thing that could keep him from running for a second term would be a health problem. He now described his own condition as "100 percent. Perfect bill of health." [fn 38] And that, as far as the regime was con cerned, was that. Despite the claims of Dr. Lee that political considerations played no role in his treatment, it is clear that all statements by White House physicians about Bush's physical and mental health must be regarded with the greatest skepticism; such pronouncements are likely to be as reliable as the censored war bulletins of Operation Desert Storm. Was there still a problem with Bush's health, including his mental health? The answer is an emphatic yes, a yes buttressed by the observation of continued paroxysms of obsessive rage on the part of Bush, who has not calmed down at all. Bush remains on an emotional roller-coaster, complete with the snap decisions so typical of the hyperthyroid personality. In short, Bush's thyroid and mental disorders have the most devastating implications for his ability to govern. The first question regards the nature and even the name of Bush's malady. According to a leading Baltimore psychiatrist who could not be described as politically hostile to Bush, it is clear that the man in the White House is suffering from the full-fledged symptoms of Basedow's disease. The difference between Graves' disease and Basedow's is more than a technical quibble: the term Graves' disease as used in the English-speaking world is misleading in that it plays down the symptoms of mental disturbance which are more explicitly associated with Basedow's disease. According to this specialist, it is pointless to test the water in the White House, the Naval Observatory, Kennebunkport, and Camp David, since it is well established that Basedow's disease is emotionally triggered. An emotional upheaval, psychic shock, or other mental trauma stimulates the master endocrine gland of the body, the pituitary gland, into an overproduction of its hormone, which in turn provokes an overactivity of the thyroid, speeding up overall metabolism and further exacerbating the nervous and emotional crisis. This pattern of overstimulation of the mind, the pituitary, the thyroid, the mind, and so forth becomes a vicious, self-feeding cycle, which can be life threatening if it is not effectively treated. According to this Baltimore expert, the fact that Bush has experienced a pattern of atrial fibrillation is cause for concern not so much because of what it portends for Bush's heart, but rather because it shows that Bush's case of Basedow's disease is already well advanced, with a significant excess of thyroid hormone. The overproduction of thyroid hormone can theoretically be brought under control through the administration of radioactive iodine, but this does not mean that the disease itself is easy to treat or to bring under control with any finality. Precisely because Basedow's disease is emotionally triggered, a sudden increase in emotional stress can result in a renewal of erratic behavior. The good news, in the view of this expert, is that patients suffering from Basedow's disease do not have to be placed into a mental institution. Their symptoms can be managed, although they will continue to have their ups and downs. But such management requires a stress-free environment. The implications for Bush's further tenure in the White House are obvious enough: the Federal Aeronautics Administration will not grant a pilot's license of any kind to a person who has been diagnosed with Basedow's disease. The Baltimore specialist also pointed out that although samples of Bush's blood, taken by his White House doctors and frozen over a period of months and years, might be tested for thyroid hormone in order to answer the all-important question of when Bush's case of Basedow's disease actually began, these findings might be fragmentary because of the significant day-to-day variations in the level of thyroid hormone. If a sample had been taken after Bush heard the news that Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz had declined to accept Bush's threatening letter handed to him by Secretary of State Baker, Bush's level of thyroid hormone that day might have been high enough to warrant immediate hospitalization. In the opinion of this expert, these points all represent standard, well-known medical doctrine which is not subject to any controversy among physicians and specialists. Bush's White House medical team must therefore be keenly aware of all of them. According to a California professor of radiology, hyperthyroidism is traditionally associated with patients who are irritable, restless, overactive, and emotionally labile. They often lack the ability to concentrate, and have symptoms of anxiety. They also exhibit impulsive behavior. In addition, there are outright psychiatric disorders which are associated with hyperthyroidism. This professor pointed to Bush's decision to initiate hostilities against Iraq, in which he rejected the advice of eight out of nine secretaries of defense, three former chairmen of the joint chiefs of staff, and other prominent experts in order to wage war. Could this kind of decision-making process be associated with Bush's hyperthyroidism? In this specialist's opinion it is difficult to say, because of the difficulty of determining with precision when Bush's hyperthyroid condition began. Bush's choice of Dan Quayle as a running mate might also fit into this type of pattern. This California professor noted that there exists a literature on hyperthyroid patients who have developed schizophrenia. Sixty per cent of patients with hyperthyroidism show intellectual impairment of some degree. What will Bush be like if and when he becomes euthyroid? The California professor regarded this as a fascinating question to follow. According to a Venezuelan endocrinologist, hyperthyroidism must be regarded as a psycho-somatic illness characterized by obsessive states. When the patient is unable to consummate his or her obsession, then cardiac arrhythmia results. When this happens, the condition of the patient deteriorates. This mechanism strongly suggests that such thyroid patients be disqualified for posts that involve stress and weighty responsibilities. According to this expert, it would be difficult for Bush to remain in office until January, 1993, and it would be madness for him to attempt a second term. This specialist has a background of research in the psychological causes of thyroid disorders; one form of the etiology of hyperthyroidism he has studied involves the tendency of young children whose parents have died to develop thyroid problems as a result of grief and bereavement. The question of the influence of Bush's hyperthyroid condition on his decison-making, especially his rageful and obsessive decisions to go to war in Panama and the Gulf, could not be avoided even by the pro-regime press. A New York Times article by Dr. Lawrence K. Altman, MD, posed the question, "does an overactive thyroid gland affect mood and judgment?" According to this piece, experts interviewed admitted that they had "wondered about a theoretical link between [Bush's] Graves' disease and his presidential decisions. Most experts believe that people with hyperthyroidism do not make decisions as well as they would normally." "An important question," wrote Altman, "is when Mr. Bush's case of Graves' disease began." One way to shed light on this question would be to test stored blood samples that Bush's doctors would routinely keep. But the Secret Service has a policy of destroying all such specimens for security reasons! According to Dr. Andre Van Herle of UCLA, among patients suffering from hyperthyroidism, "some are not disturbed at all; others are basket cases." Altman elaborates that people with hyperthyroid conditions can exhibit uncharacteristic behavior like showing shortened attention spans, making snap decisions, behaving frenetically, and tiring more easily than usual. People have been known to inexplicably get married or divorced when such important decisions are out of character. Students with overactive thyroids may be so jittery that they cannot sit through class or they do poorly on examinations. The worst form of hyperthyroidism, known as thyroid storm, can be charctarized by fever, marked weakness, muscle-wasting and psychosis. Mr. Bush's doctors have described his case as mild, and never near thyroid storm. According to Dr. Peter C. Whybrow, head of the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, mild depression can be an initial symptom of hyperthyroid disorder. People with overactive thyroid glands "don't perform quite so well," in his view. "They feel, for reasons they cannot explain, a little agitated, a little preoccupied with themselves, jumpy. Their concentration is a little off." According to Altman, "some experts have raised the possibility that Mr. Bush could have had a mildly overactive thyroid in the 1988 Presidential campaign, or even earlier." Any normal medical checkup administered by a private doctor would have detected Bush's thyroid ailment through a $20 blood test that is done automatically unless it is specifically ruled out by the physician in advance. [fn 39] These views were supplemented by a piece in the Washington Post by Abigail Trafford, the editor of that newspaper's weekly health supplement, who was herself a victim of Graves' disease. Ms. Trafford warned her readers of "the bad news: It is difficult to live with and adjust to Graves's disease. What's missing in all the upbeat press releases from the White House is the powerful emotional impact the disease has on many patients and the effects of hyperthyroidism on mood, behavior, and judgment. And while Graves' is, indeed, curable, it can take months, sometimes years, for people to get their thyroid function back to normal." Joshua L. Cohen, assistant professor of medicine at George Washington University, told Ms. Trafford that "Graves' disease strikes on a psychological basis and it strikes a population that is not used to the concept of being sick." According to Washington endocrinologist James N. Ramey, "There's no question that the emotions are severely out of whack." Terry Taylor, acting chief of endocrinology at Georgetown University Medical Center described Graves' patients: "Emotionally, they can be feeling very good and then very bad. There are a lot of ups and downs....They cry at TV ads.""It takes several half-lives to get the thyroid level in the blood down." Therefore some patients take three months to feel like "their old selves," and some take a year. Ms. Trafford recalls that on August 10, 1990, during the first week, of the Gulf crisis, when Bush left for his summer vacation in Maine, he was heard to say: Life goes on. Gotta keep moving. Can't stay in one place all the time. [fn 40] According to the Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing by Lillian Sholtis Brunner and Doris Smith Suddarth, hyperthyroidism "may appear after an emotional shock, nervous strain, or an infection -- but the exact significance of these relationships is not understood." According to these authors, "patients with well-developed hyperthyroidism exhibit a characterstic group of symptoms and signs. Their presenting symptom is often nervousness. They are emotionally hyperexcitable; their state of mind is apt to be irritable and apprehensive; they cannot sit quietly; they suffer from palpitation; and their pulse is abnormally rapid at rest as well as on exertion." The disease "may progress relentlessly, the untreated patient becoming emaciated, intensely nervous, delirious -- even disoriented -- and the heart eventually 'racing itself to death.'" These authors also point out that "no treatment for hyperthyroidism has been discovered that combats its basic cause," even though a number of forms of treatment are available. Within the context of treatment, the following "overview of nursing management" is recommended: The objectives of nursing care are to assist the patient in overcoming his symptoms and to help him return to a euthyroid condition. The nurse maintains a calm manner and understands that much of his nervousness and anxiety is beyond his control. Activities to lessen the irritability of the nervous system may include the following: protecting the patient from stressful experiences, such as upsetting visitors or the presence of annoying or very ill patients; providing a cool and uncluttered environment; and encouraging the patient to enjoy pleasant music, light television entertainment, and interesting and relaxing hobbies. [fn 41] This is hardly a description of the White House situation room. During the course of this debate, newspapers printed summaries of substances which are thought to have an influence on thyroid activity. These included germs such as yersinia enterocolitica, certain types of retrovirus, lithium, iodine, and the so-called goitrogens. This last category includes chemicals found in vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage. The New York Times of May 19 carried two letters to the editor on this subject. One, from Professor Franklin M. Loew, Dean of the Tufts University Veterinary School, recalled that vegetables of the brassica family, such as brussel sprouts, kale, and broccoli contain substances that may help to prevent Graves' disease. The other letter reported that the popular guide, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, recommends plenty of broccoli to guard against the dangers of the overactive thyroid. All of this once again posed the question of Bush's outbursts about broccoli, which may have been urged on his by physicians seeking a way to mitigate some of his symptoms. On May 29, Bush's foremost political prisoner, Lyndon H. LaRouche commented on Bush's mental health: ....In the past several days, particularly, there has been increasing discussion of President George Bush's state of mental health. At the same time, questions have been raised as to which of his decisions, beginning for example with the Panama decisions and the Iraqi decisions, might have been caused, or largely shaped, by the influence of a mental disorder. ...I base myself primarily upon what I have directly observed and have also reported since my observation of a press conference which President Bush delivered during the high point of the US invasion of Panama, at the end of 1989. At that time, I observed, from what I saw on the television screen, that the President was in a dissociated state such that at least at that moment or in that context, the stresses of what he was doing had overwhelmed him, and he was to all intents and purposes virtually psychotic at that time." LaRouche illustrated Bush's disorder with the following example: Many of us know, sometime, quasi-successful or successful business executives and others who are most unpleasant personalities to work with, precisely because they are given to obsessions, and can be set off into terrible states of rage if any of these irrational obsessions is disturbed. That is, if these obsessions are frustrated in any way, the obsession may erupt as a glower at work, on the job or elsewhere; it may take the form of the launching of a vendetta against some person on the slightest kinds of flimsy pretext; it may also take the form of kicking the wife, the children, the family dog on the weekend, at home, to compensate for the frustration that is experienced in the week before. We're all familiar with this type of personality; no one can go through life without knowing a number of close contacts whom one has closely observed who have a problem in this direction. We also know of cases, when extremely stressed, overloaded --shall we say, circuits overloaded -- that the behavior we see is that which we would rightly associate with a psychotic or semi-psychotic state, as I observed in George Bush first in that press conference broadcast in the high point of the US invasion of Panama. There is no question, on the one hand, that if George Bush is such a personality -- and there is no doubt that he is a disturbed personality who has great difficulty in coping rationally with the frustrations associated with his office under present conditions -- there's no question that what he did in Panama, what he did in Iraq at some points must have been colored by psychosis, or this kind of psychosis. [fn 42] Was Operation Desert Storm really Operation Thyroid Storm? On May 20, one of the most fanatical supporters of war against Iraq had attempted to pre-empt the discussion of the role of hyperthyroid mental instability in Bush's military decisions. This was William Safire, who wrote: Next, with more sinister intent, we can expect this question: To what extent was the President's uncharacteristically activist mindset after the Iraqi invasion affected by a hyperthyroid condition? Was he hyper last August 2? Did the overactive gland affect his decision to launch the air war or the ground war early this year? [fn 43] Bush himself had been asked to comment about this possibility. He replied that any idea that his warmongering in the Gulf had been facilitated by his thryoid disorder was "just plain, old- fashioned malarkey." Before leaving on a visit to St. Paul, Minnesota, Bush protested that his health was fine. "I'm not wary, you know, wondering what happens next," he said. It makes me happy everything's okay. They diagnosed it right, treated it right, and there's nothing more serious to it." Just after he had boarded Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base for his trip to the Twin Cities, Bush called reporters together and declared: "I just want to say everything's fine." Asked about any side effects of the five medicines he was then taking, Bush answered that his medication "affects my tummy. But it doesn't affect my willingness and eagerness to get to the office." In an apparent allusion to Lincoln's celebrated comment on the alleged alcoholism of Gen. Grant, Bush even suggested that his thryoid excess may have been an advantage: "There's a great man who suggested, 'If that's your problem, then get more thyroid problems because it went very well, indeed.'" [fn 44] During June, there were hints from Bush and his retinue that he might not run for president again in 1992. This was largely a cynical public relations ploy, attempting to generate a story when it was clear that Bush was monomaniacally obsessed with holding onto power as long his he could and by any means. On a visit to Los Angeles, Bush alluded to this question, and tried to portray himself as a man whose sense of duty to the voters would only allow him to consider re-election if he were in perfect condition. Would he run again? "I haven't decided. It's too early. Don't push me." There was the testy note again. Any reasons why he might not? "Can't really think of a reason except, certainly, health." I'd owe it to the American people to say, 'Hey, I'm up for the job for four more years.' I think [my] health's in good enough shape to certify, but I want to take a look at it later on. I can't tell you I feel perfect yet, but I'm getting there....I want to get off all this medicine. [fn 45] I'm absolutely convinced on that one -- if you had to ask me on that one today -- I think health's in good enough shape to certify, 'Yeah.' But I want to take a look at it later on. I don't know. I've got a strong-willed wife. Oh, she's strong. The Silver Fox, boy. It wouldn't be decided running from a battle. The fact if there's a battle, and there will be, that would make me inclined to say I'm going to be a candidate. [fn 46] As part of this same deception number, Barbara Bush also floated a trial balloon that George might renounce the second half of his birthright. Speaking of the period 1993-1997, Mrs. Bush told a reporter, "I wouldn't mind if he gave [those years] to me. I wouldn't mind if he didn't, I would not be terribly disappointed if he didn't run." In the course of this interview, Mrs. Bush also revealed that George, despite his hyperthyroid treatment, was still manic enough to want to play golf at the crack of dawn: "Sometimes he says to me at 5 in the morning, "If you played golf we could go out and play right now.'" Mrs. Bush admitted that she was now taking golf lessons; "I want to be with George," she explained. [fn 47] But six weeks later, during the course of the Moscow summit, Mrs. Bush rose above her personal concerns to look historical necessity straight in the eye: "I really think he has to run again, honestly." And why was that? "For the country's sake. I think he's got a lot left to do, and I think he has to. Now, I don't want that to be a public announcement." How about lingering doubts on Bush's physical condition? "He is well. And you know myths get started, and we've got to stop it. The president is very well. He jogged on Sunday and played 18 holes of golf. Plus we had a large group for dinner. The president is great." Repeating this line for ABC and NBC television, Mrs. Bush denied that she would try to talk George out of a bid for a second term. She suggested that such ideas were largely the creation of the press, a slightly disingenuous posture. [fn 48] As for the burning issue of Dan Quayle's precious bodily fluids, the tests ordered in May revealed that there was some lead in the old pipes at the Naval Observatory. Marilyn Quayle shared this vital intelligence with a group of Republican fat cats at a fundraiser in Orlando, Florida. "We've gotten some reports back that weren't real heartening," said Marilyn. "We had higher lead [levels] than what was supposed to be there in some of the different spigots, but it wasn't all over the house. We want to have it redone because it didn't make any sense." But experts maintained that there is no connection between lead and Graves' disease. [fn 49] Of course, lead-lined goblets and other drinking vessels used by the wealthy during the Roman Empire have sometimes been cited as a factor in the notable mental instability of many emperors. In early August, Bush met with a group of perception pimps and other political advisers at his Camp David retreat. Pollster Bob Teeter was there, along with Robert Mosbacher, who was on the inside track to chair the campaign. Also present were Brady, Quayle, Sununu, William Kristol of Quayle's staff, and media expert Roger Ailes. A few days earlier, Bush had stated that "only a health problem" might make him drop out, but "I don't have one right now. On the same day, Burton Lee had certified Bush as being "in excellent health." [fn 50] By late October, the Bushmen were already holding $1000-a-plate fundraising dinners, complete with Bush, Quayle, Mosbacher, and other heavies of the regime. Bush was running, with a vengeance. Comparing the evidence adduced here so far about the etiology and symptoms of Basedow's disease with Bush's pattern of activity in 1988-1991, three general conclusions are suggested: 1. Since 1987-88 at the latest, George Bush has exhibited a marked tendency towards obsessive rage states, often expressed by compulsive public displays of extreme anger and lack of self- control. These obsessive rage states and the quasi-psychotic impulses behind them may be regarded as the probable psychological trigger for Basedow's disease, a psychosomatic, autoimmune disorder. 2. There is much evidence that important decisions, including most notably Bush's decisions militarily to attack Panama and Iraq, were substantially facilitated by these obsessive rage states. 3. There are indications that Bush's inability to kill or capture Saddam Hussein, combined with his inability to destroy the Baath party government of Iraq, frustrated of one of Bush's obsessive compulsions and may thus have contributed to a hyperthryoid crisis and the emergence of atrial fibrillation in early May of 1991. Alternatively, the accumulated tensions of the Gulf crisis, possibly in some combination with other events, may have been sufficient to precipitate Bush's hospitalization. The question that remains to be considered is whether Bush can be considered cured of the mental and physiological disorders involved with his hyperthyroid crisis. The answer is that Bush demonstrably continues to exhibit those symptoms of rage, irritability, uncontrollable outbursts, compulsive and frenetic activity, and impulsive decisions which we must conclude were part of the trigger for Basedow's disease in the first place. During the first six months after Bush drank his cocktail of radioactive iodine, and he did not become any more tranquil. His agenda has remained packed, and his sports calendar frenetic. He still tends to make unpredictable snap decisions. He had often lost control of his emotions in public, most often through rage, but also through weeping and other forms of affective upheaval. June 5: Bush addressed the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, and recounted his tearful Camp David decision to launch war in the Gulf. "And the tears started to roll down the cheeks, and our minister smiled back, and I no longer worried how it looked to others," Bush told the Baptists. As viewed by Andrew Rosenthal of the New York Times, the scene proceeded as follows: At that moment, Mr. Bush's voice broke, and tears filled his eyes. He brushed at them with a finger. Then he turned to one of the cameras near the lectern, flashed one of the incongruous grins that often appear in his moments of emotional discomfort, and pointed to his cheek. "Here we go," he said. Mr. Bush confessed to reporters afterward that he felt a little embarrassed by his display of emotion before the delegates. "I do that in church," he said. "Maybe in public it's a kind of a first, or maybe a third." [fn 51] According to other accounts, Bush's "voice cracked," and he "grew husky and choked." June 16: Bush visited Los Angeles to attend a party thrown by Malibu producer Jerry Weintraub, who has been responsible for such films as "The Karate Kid" and "My Stepmother is an Alien." Bush also played golf with Ronald Reagan, outdriving and outputting the aging former president. One press account suggests that Bush maintained his hyperhtyroid pace: Apart from playing golf, Mr. Bush continued his usual mad dash of recreation. This morning, he was in such a hurry to get to a tennis game that his motorcade roared off without his personal aide, his personal physician, and, more important, the military officer who carries codes for launching nuclear missles. Unnerved by this omission, White House aides hurriedly rounded up transportation and sped the officer to the tennis courts. During this trip, Bush also experienced a rage outburst set off by a reporter's reference to the 1988 Newsweek cover that explored "the wimp factor." This set Bush off as follows: You're talking to the wimp. You're talking to the guy that had a cover of a national magazine that I'll never forgive, put that label on me. [fn 52] July 11-12: On July 11, Bush received a visit from Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu at Kennebunkport. He was asked about senate hearings on his nomination of Robert Gates to be head of the CIA. (With anything but a rubberstamp Congress, the Gates nomination would have had to be seen as a gratuitous provocation. Gates had been up to his neck in Iran-contra and the coverup thereof, and had withdrawn during a previous attempt to occupy the same office. Now Bush was stirring up the Iran-contra affair once again. Washington rumor had it that Bush's first choice for the post had been Don Gregg, and that Bush's handlers had exahusted their energies in persuading Bush to renounce this even bigger provocation. When Bush had been forced to drop Gregg, he had insisted on Gates. Obsessions and hyperthyroidism had been at work in all this. Now Bush was asked about Gates: was his story credible that he knew nothing of illegal funds transfer when those above and below him in the chain of command knew all about it? Bush's first comment was moderate in tone: Doesn't stretch my credibility because I believe firmly in Bob Gates's word. And he's a man of total honor, and he should be confirmed as Director of Central Intelligence. And when you have behind-doors, closed-door allegations that nobody really knows anything about, I'm not sure where the fairness element comes in on that one, Jim. The next day, July 12, Bush engaged in a question and answer session with reporters. Bush was dressed in sporting togs, but today he was out of control. His first impulse was to escape from the reporters: Hey, listen. I've got to go now. Heavy recreation coming up before we go abroad, so I've got to keep going. He fought off some questions about Clarence Thomas allegedly smoking marijuana, commenting that this was not disqualifying. Then, there was a mention of Gates: Q: Has Gates told you about- That touched Bush's obsession of the day. Gates had been accused of complicity in Iran-contra gun-running and drug running; but Bush himself had once again come under attack for his role in the October surprise conspiracy to delay the release of US hostages held in Teheran. Several days before, the former director of Central American affairs for the CIA, Alan Fiers, had admitted lying to Congress. Special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh was continuing his investigation, and it was now clear that the Senate would not vote on the Gates nomination until the autumn. At this point Bush broke in, and with a contorted face launched into an interminable enraged monologue, angrily brushing aside interruptions. The passages are worth reproducing here in detail because of the insight they afford into the workings of a tormented mind: Bush: Let me say something on the Gates matter. What are we coming to here? You're talking to somebody who had to prove his innocence --me--on the basis of rumor. It was alleged by people that we weren't sure who they were, that I was in Paris at some deal to keep Americans in captivity. That's what the allegation was against me. And I'm saying to myself, who's making these allegations? What's the evidence? What have we come to where a man has to prove his innocence against some fluid, movable charge? And now I'm thinking about Bob Gates. And I'm saying: What is this all about? Isn't the people that might be accusing him of something --shouldn't it be their responsibility under the American system of fairplay? I have full confidence in him. But what is this system where we hear some leak in some newspaper that behind closed doors somebody has said something, and thus a lot of people run for cover? I have confidence in Gates. And if somebody wants to accuse him of something, the Senate is absolutely right in getting that determination made and asking for the evidence, but they ought not to have it obscured by some testimony that's been going on for four years. They ought not to accept a rumor. They ought not to panic and run like a covey of quail because somebody has made an allegation against a man whose work I trust and who, as I understand it, hasn't been fingered by what's coming out of this process. And so, I'm glad this has come up again because I think what we're entitled to in this country is fairplay, innocence until guilty. And yes, the Senate has an obligation, but let's call these witnesses that are supposed to know something bad. Isn't Bob Gates entitled to that? I mean, why let them run for cover and say let's hang it out all over next summer? Now, if Gates wants to do that, that's fine. But if somebody asked me about it, I'd say, hey, get the men up there that are making these -- Q: We don't understand-- Bush: Excuse me -- get the men up there that are making these allegations. Isn't that the American system of justice? What is it when we hear something leaked to a newspaper and we all run for cover because we're -- not me, because I know Bob Gates and I have total confidence in the man's integrity and honor. And if the Senate wants -- and the Senate, I think, now owes it to him to promptly call his accusers or those who they think -- who we understand from newspaper articles are supposedly making accusations against him. And don't let them stay under cover, "well, we can't do that because we have this other ongoing testimony" or some behind- closed-doors, what do they call these --indictment proceedings going on. That's not the American way. We sent this nomination up some time ago. And if everybody's going to get flustered and panic because of some allegation by some -- where we don't even know that the person is accusing him of anything -- all I'm saying is fairplay. The American -- Q: Do you think-- Bush: May I finish? The American people understand fairplay. And I just hope the Senate will keep this in mind. I have no argument with Senator Boren, Senator Murkowski wanting to get to the bottom of it. But this idea that it will be served by leaving it out all summer -- you know and I know there will be questions every single day -- what about this allegation? What about that? All I'm saying is, from everything I've seen, yes, let's get to the bottom of it, but lets' bring forward these people that are supposedly fingering him. Let's bring forward and let them stand there under oath before the Senate, as I think the Senate intends to do. But why wait? Why not -- this nomination has been there a long time, and now we're hearing that there's some process going on behind-closed-doors someplace by some witness who hasn't fingered Gates, but that's enough to hold this up. If Bob Gates wants to hold it up, fine. If he says to me we want to delay it, fine. But other than that, let the American system of fairplay work. Let innocence until proven guilty be the guideline here. And let promptness-- we need a good-- a new Director to follow on an excellent Director, and we need it soon, to run this intelligence community. So, that's my position. And I'm glad, Jim, that you raised it again because I really feel strongly about this. I just don't think it's the American way to bring a good man down by rumor and insinuation. That's not the system. After several more questions and answers on Gates, there was a question on a move afoot in the House to launch the first formal investigation of the October surprise affair, including Bush's role. Was it a fishing expedition? Bush: Well, I wouldn't accuse the Speaker of that. The man --he's another one that's-- too much integrity to be in that mode. I think he's in a difficult position. But let's see the evidence, bring it forth. If they're still charging that I was in Paris on october 20th, if it's that kind of case, fine. But the evidence is --what happened-- you know, here's a good case. All this rumor, can't quite pin it down, but as Vice President, the President -- now President - - was supposed to have been in Paris in the month of October, specifically on October 20th. Who's accusing me? Well, nobody's really accusing you of it, but every paper's got it. We come forth with evidence which includes almost minute-by- minute certification as to where I was, and then they say, well, maybe that's laid to rest, but somebody else is supposed to have been someplace else. Maybe the way to lay it to rest is through what Foley's talking about. And if he decides that, look, he'll have full cooperation from me. How long can you keep denying your knowledge or involvement on something that didn't happen, as far as I know? But maybe he's got some other evidence. But it just seems a little wierd that it keeps going. You shoot down one thing, and somebody else raises another. Q: Are you certain that Casey had no dealings that could be interpreted -- Bush: I have no knowledge of what Casey can do, or did do. The man's dead. Let's have some more interviews with a dead man. You know what I mean? Get it? (Laughter). Q: I think so. (Laughter) Q: Mr. President, to clear -- Bush: Hey, I've got to go fishing, it's much more important than doing this. Yes, Helen? No. Q: Mr. President, to clear the air and get everything out in the open, could you order the release of the CIA telephone conversations? Bush: I'm leaving all this in the hands of the legal authorities and I am not going to intervene in a court proceeding. I am not a lawyer. I don't want to have some 22-year old prosecutor jump up and say that the President has -- (Laughter)-- frustrated the process here. I don't know enough about that. You've got good lawyers that do. I don't know enough about scheduling or how evidence before grand juries work, and I'm disinclined to learn. But I do know a little something about fairplay. And all I'm trying to say is, let's revert to that standard. Let's use that as the guide here and not get caught up in some niggling, legal point. I'm seeing a man's character getting damaged, just as I feel mine was challenged when they said, hey, prove your innocence. You're guilty until innocent. Prove you weren't in Paris on -- whatever the hell it was -- October 20th. And here he went to the front yard at 10:22. He was at the so-and-so embassy at 10:27. He was so and so. And finally, well, that one just fades into the sunset and along comes a bunch of other allegations by unnamed people that you can't find and can't put your -- like reaching out and touching a handful of whipped cream, you can't get ahold of it. I don't want to --I've been through a little bit-- but I don't want to see Bob Gates, a man of honor and integrity, go through it anymore. That's all I'm trying to say. Thank you. Have a neat day. [fn 53] July 20: Bush was on a foreign trip that included a meeting with Mitterrand in Rambouillet, near Paris, the G-7 meeting in London, and a trip to Turkey and Greece. According to press accounts, he was examined every day by Burton Lee. As one journalist travelling with Bush's party tells it, "Toward the end of the trip, [Bush] looked tired. Last Saturday [July 20], he could not recall the details of a speech he was to give in two days. 'It's a speech in the Rose Garden to some special group,' he told a news conference. 'Don't ask me any more.'" On Sunday, taking questions from reporters while posing for photographs with Suleyman Demirel, leader of a Turkish opposition party, Bush testily objected to the tone of an American radio reporter's question. "Now, wait a minute," Bush said. You don't ask in that tone; just ask the question." [fn 54] July 23: At a White House meeting with GOP leaders, even the New York Times could not ignore Bush's "apparent irritation" on the Gates issue, a leading Bush obsession. Bush was still furious about Gates being left to twist in the wind all summer. "I think the man deserves to be confirmed, and I've seen nothing other than innuendo and reports that he must have known this or something. I don't want to get started. [Understandable, after his previous nonstop rage monologue.] I told the cabinet yesterday how strongly I feel about this and so I will stand by this man." [fn 56] August 2: One day after returning to Washington from the Moscow summit, Bush gave a news conference in the Rose Garden that was heavily colored by obsessive rage, as can be seen from a front-page photograph in the next day's Washington Post, which shows him snarling and gesticulating. Bush's main theme was an attack on the Congress, "a Congress that is frustratingly negative on everything." "I'm getting fired up thinking about it, Bush said. He then launched into a tirade: We've got excellent programs, and the only way when the other party controls the Congress is to defeat some of their lousy ideas and then keep saying to the American people, 'Have your congressman try the president's ideas. We need more farsighted people like me in Congress. So please, American people, -- let me look over this way -- please, do not listen to the charges by frantic Democrats who are trying to say we don't have a domestic policy when we have a good one. Give it a chance. Let the president's programs come up, and let's have some support for what he was elected to do. According to Bush, the Democrats "seem to have a concerted policy...to tear down the president." Asked about possible Democratic presidential candidates meeting with the widow of his family benefactor, Bush responded with muted anger, "These fellows who are very nice, very pleasant -- all go down to Pamela Harriman's farm down here, the bastion of democracy, and come back and tell me that we don't have a domestic program. C'mon. Lighten up out there." After the long diatribes, it was perhaps not surprising that someone asked Bush how he was feeling. "Right now, I feel like a million bucks," he replied. But he was adamant that it was time for his vacation: "I'm history...It's going to be a vacation. I think I've earned it, like a lot of Americans, and I'm looking forward to it. And it will not be denied." [fn 55] --[cont]-- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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