Another Question for the President (and Poll)

I was reading BarbinMD's diary about Bush's probable fear of prosecution, and decided that I have questions for the man, too.  So today I was reading Digby, and in there is a discussion of a Fred Barnes column on Bush's "head's up" meeting with journalists.

In that column, Barnes quotes Bush thusly:

I've never been more convinced that the decisions I made are the right decisions.

I bet you've already figured out my question, but follow me over to the other side for the (somewhat vulgar) asking of it.

What the fuck is he thinking?  Ho-ly crap.

This man has, as the psychological types would say, "issues."  In what possible universe is it the case that anything this man has "decided" has worked out well for anyone except his cronies?

So, I ask you: does he even know what he's doing to people around the world, or is he simply interested in the effects of his policy on the rich and on big business?

Can a man really be that much out of it, and yet hold the office of President of the United States?

Okay, now I know this is a waste of a diary (other than pimping the linked pieces -- go, read them!).  

But there are days when you wonder how it is that this man-child can occupy the "highest office in the land."  How this man-child can sit there and believe that's he's doing the right thing, that his policies are having beneficial effects, that the things the decider decides are good things.

The only answer I can come up with comes to me in that dark of night when things are quiet and the little voice in my head can be heard, and I hear it whisper to me, "pathological delusion."  (Nevermind that I hear a voice.  I'm not the decider.)

This is not different from religious zealotry: evidence doesn't matter.  And remember, it's the religious zealots who flew airplanes into the World Trade Towers.

But good sweet Jeebus on a front-porch glider, how can a sane person make that statement?  Do we have a crazyman in charge of the country?

Ergo, I have decided that I do not wish to be a passenger on the airplane of state (sorry; screwed up the metaphor) that Bush is driving.

•  Even though I am merely

  a decider and not the decider, I've decided that I gotta get off this ride.  This is a really, really scary man.

  If there was ever an occasion for a military coup, this is the sort of leader you'd have in office.  Delusional, and with his finger on the button of a huge nuclear arsenal.

  by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 03:39:49 AM PDT

  •  You mean

    nucular arsenal, don't you?

    by kestrel9000 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 03:44:25 AM PDT

    •  Only on my ignorant days.

      Most other days I can get it right.

      Bush seems to have a surfeit of ignorant days, huh?

      by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:31:11 AM PDT

      •  Ah, "surfeit"

        I love it when I use that word and someone asks me 'What the hell is a surfeit?"
        I tell 'em, "Opposite of 'dearth'", and walk away.

        by kestrel9000 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:36:51 AM PDT

  •  No coup

    I'm for maintaining the illusion of democracy even with President Cuckoo Bananas.

    Still, the premise of the film JFK was that the powers that be had decided that JFK had to be whacked. When I don the tin foil hat, you can almost see the countries movers and shakers deciding that as good as he has been for the families, Crazy George has lost it and as they said when Tommy got whacked in Good Fellas, "that's that".

    That quote from Barnes bothered me as well. Delusional megalomaniac. The irony was that in the 2000 campaign, Gore was suppose to be unstable while George was down to earth. Cue Charles Krauthammer. We need a column assuring us that George is the epitomy of mental health.

    by HL Mungo on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:52:21 AM PDT

    •  I'm certainly not advocating a coup;

      I'm just noting that this is the sort of delusional leader against whom coup d'etats are typically brought.

      You get someone in charge who has just lost it, the normal mechanisms for dealing with that are broken (Republican), and so what can you do?  He gives an order that you as a military person cannot obey.  So you take him away and install someone else.

      by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:23:24 AM PDT

      •  I Know You Were Not Advocating A Coup

        I stated that so I wouldn't arouse Secret Service as I mentioned what I have lately speculated.

        by HL Mungo on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 07:22:40 AM PDT

        •  What, Mr. NSA man? ME???

          Heh.

          by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 07:46:22 AM PDT

•  No military coup....

  but we could have an impeachment here tonight, an impeachment here tonight (to the tune of, "There's a meeting here tonight."

  by murrayewv on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 03:43:05 AM PDT

  •  I just keep hoping that when

    he tells the generals to nuke Iran, they just say no.

    My new motto: Just say no to nuking Iran.

    by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 03:52:58 AM PDT

•  preservation of ego

  At this point he HAS to be right, for to admit in his mind that he is wrong means taking responsibilty for all of the pain and destruction he has caused.

  Only by asserting that he and he alone truly understands how right he is, can he continue to function.

  Its the same psychology behind the 'smirk'...the rest of ue don't understand how incredibly smart and sure and right he is.

  God (or his meds)have repeatedly assured him he is right and all others are wrong, so to admit ANY error at this point brings the whole stack of cards tumbling down.

  We really owe him and the world the great kindness of impeachment...before he totally loses his mind as things disintegrate undeniably before his eyes.

  Its scary to think that the fate of the world lies now, in the hands of one man....George Bush's pharmacist.

  by buhdydharma on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 03:55:55 AM PDT

  •  Heh.

    I like it.  That'd be a great book title: The President's Pharmacist.

    by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:01:25 AM PDT

    •  And...

      ...like The President's Analyst he'd be a man too dangerous to be allowed to live...

      by Shadan7 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:26:01 AM PDT

  •  exactly...

    as someone said here, he is definitely "off the leash."

    by marjo on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:21:05 AM PDT

  •  Bush is incapapable of taking responsibility.

    At this point he HAS to be right, for to admit in his mind that he is wrong means taking responsibilty for all of the pain and destruction he has caused.

    He is incapable of understanding the pain he has caused.  He has no empathy for other people at all.  He's a psychopath.  

    It's so clear when you listen to his speeches and press conferences.  He makes facile comments like (paraphrased): I feel for the 9/11 survivors--or the families of those who have died in Iraq, or Katrina survivors--whatever.  It's clear he doesn't feel for anyone but himself.

    We have a dangerous lunatic in the White House, and someone had better get him out of there or things are going to continue to spiral out of control.

    by Boston Boomer on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:12:53 AM PDT

    •  There's a friend of mine

      (a clinical psychologist) who thinks it's more like borderline personality disorder.  You can see elements of sociopathic, paranoid, and histrionic (among others) personality disorders, but no one dominates.

      The scary thing is that I think the pressure is making him come apart.

      by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:25:27 AM PDT

    •  Ironically, in that meeting last week with

      David Brooks and other conservative journalists, Bush said he had gotten into politics in order to "change the culture" away from the 1960s culture of instant gratification."

      And yet, as president, Bush expects to be instantly gratified by Congress.  

      by litigatormom on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 07:08:20 AM PDT

      •  That is so true.

        Bush is like a three-year-old who has to have his way instantly or he throws a tantrum.  He has zero ability to delay gratification.  

        by Boston Boomer on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 07:31:28 AM PDT

      •  Good point

        I guess it takes one to know one.

        by vigilant meerkat on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:22:43 AM PDT

•  Here's my suggestion

  From my dairy today. I've decided that it was the Great Pumpkin who came to him in a dream and told him what to do and how to do it

  by Mishima on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 03:56:58 AM PDT

  •  Except that Bush is too mean

    and petty to even get a visit from the Great Pumpkin.

    :)

    by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 03:58:03 AM PDT

•  I think he has moments of clarity

  but then he retreats into his rabbit hole world, and there are plenty of people around him who help him climb back in.  Laura, I am guessing, can't get through to him at all anymore, judging by the distress you can clearly see in her face lately.

  by joanneleon on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 03:59:50 AM PDT

  •  But I think he's

    perfectly clear, but just unhinged from reality.  His vision is clear, his belief is clear, his goals are clear, everything clear.

    But deluded.

    I feel bad for Laura.  She seems like a nice enough person.

    by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:02:45 AM PDT

    •  According to the supermarket...

      ...checkout aisle magazine covers, Laura is either divorcing George because of his affair with Condi or having a nervous breakdown because "she can't take it anymore."

      by rserven on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:08:13 AM PDT

      •  I saw that too

        it was the Globe I believe.  Before, they had an article about how she moved down Connecticut Ave into a hotel because of Georges drinking and affair with Condi.  <Cavuto>Is Bush Back on the Bottle?  Are George and Condi an Item?</Cavuto>

        by calipygian on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:10:55 AM PDT

      •  Weekly World News?

        Now self described as the "only reliable news source".(I was at the grocery store yesterday afternoon.) Headline, A New Race of Space Aliens Discovered. What happened to the old ones? This must be the only paper that "the decider" reads.

        by irate on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:13:36 AM PDT

    •  I don't feel sorry for her.

      I used to, because I bet he was a mean drunk.  But she made her bed and seems perfectly happy going along, providing cover to W.  Hard as it may be, lots of folks have divorced abusive or mean-spirited spouses.  Just saying.

      by gmb on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:43:19 AM PDT

      •  I waffle on this one

        Sometimes I think she's much more ethical and in tune with reality, and really tries to get through to him.  Other times, I think she doesn't really give a damn about the American people.  But in any case, my statement above wasn't meant to judge her either way, just an observation of her demeanor and a guess about her state of mind/situation.

        by joanneleon on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:49:23 AM PDT

        •  Personally, I think she is medicated

          most of the time and is just trying to get to the end of the day.  When he is out of office (hopefully sooner rather than later), I imagine they will spend a lot of time apart.  Again, her choice.  

          by gmb on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:53:45 AM PDT

          •  I don't think she is medicated

            I think she's a fully aware, voluntary member of this cabal.  I saw her on the Today Show this morning.  Her talking points made it clear that the recent bit of theatre regarding the Geneva Conventions and bush's desire to rewrite those parts relating to the treatment of prisoners of war may have been staged, and that an "agreement" between bush and the three recalcitrant rethugs who voted against his preferred version soon will be reached. She has a job to do, and she is doing it.  She knows what is going on.

            by vigilant meerkat on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 08:33:06 AM PDT

            •  But her eyes....you've

              seen them.  They aren't natural--she wears the look of someone who is not feeling the every day bumps that occur in most lives.  Just saying.

              by gmb on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:49:07 PM PDT

  •  I shudder to think

    what it would be like to be married to Dubya.  I would be cringing inside every time I had to listen to him speak or watch him act out on national TV.  Laura should let Condi have him.

    by Boston Boomer on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:14:46 AM PDT

    •  Is it any wonder that

      Laura agreed to join Bill Clinton on his tour?

      Thought bubble over Laura's head:
      "Get me the hell outta here!"

      by urbannie on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:59:44 AM PDT

      •  She gets to spend time with someone

        who has a brain bigger than a peanut.

        What a treat!

        by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 06:01:01 AM PDT

      •  uh oh...

        Once she gets a dose of the Clinton charm, she may have more trouble putting up with poor old Georgie.

        by Boston Boomer on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 07:33:33 AM PDT

  •  Laura was on the Today Show this morning

    and she kept talking about how "the people" are always telling Bush to "stay the course."

    Hasn't anyone told her yet that "stay the course" has been retired as a talking point, and that the new meme is "adjust to win"?

    by litigatormom on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 07:39:07 AM PDT

•  Well the upside is

  there is no problem assigning command responsibility, is there?  Its like he's already waived his 5th Amendment rights.

  by calipygian on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:06:13 AM PDT

•  Have you ever heard of

  megalomania?

  Bush is a prime case.

  by Chincoteague on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:06:59 AM PDT

•  Do we have a crazy man in charge of the country?

  Who else would want the job?

  by irate on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:08:17 AM PDT

  •  There has to be a certain amount of

    egoism to want to be any sort of politician, and I think a significant amount of sunshine-blowing from syncophants would be necessary to convince someone they'd be good at being president.  I accept that.

    But at some point you'd think that we'd require at least a modicum of sanity.  I can handle pride, and even hubris from time to time.  But good lord, let that person at least have some contact with reality.

    by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:16:58 AM PDT

•  I, too, have a question for George:

  If a chicken and a half can lay an egg and a half in a day and a half, how long does it take one chicken to lay one egg?

  Maybe that will keep him occupied and out of trouble.

  by rserven on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:10:17 AM PDT

  •  his answer?

    invade the chicken

    by buhdydharma on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:13:40 AM PDT

    •  Why?

      does the chicken hate America?  

      by Shadan7 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:28:47 AM PDT

  •  I like the way you think,

    Robyn.

    Give him a brain teaser, and wait for his head to pop.

    by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:20:19 AM PDT

    •  "Why does the plover bird...

      ...lay its eggs in the air?" --Bozos on the Bus, Firesign Theater

      Or maybe we can just send him any Firesign Theater album.  Maybe we can get him to go searching for Rancho Milario or More Science High.

      by rserven on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:31:24 AM PDT

•  he HAS to believe

  or he and everything around him that props him up day to day collapses.

  his very existence, the tiny thread of his sanity, hinges on his ability to delude himself.

  and that threat gets thinner every day.

  by marjo on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:19:26 AM PDT

  •  Remember that God is talking to him.

    So from his point of view, everything he does is God's plan.  Just how that makes him "the decider", God only knows.

    by rserven on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:29:14 AM PDT

    •  Do you believe that he believes

      this?  Or is this just the spin his team puts out to keep the base in line?  I keep going back and forth on this one.  On the one hand, I can see him believing that god chose him....makes him special (I'm not dumb, poppy!).  On the other hand, is thre anything the least bit christian about what this man does?  Then again, you don't have to walk the walk to tlak the talk.  W and his team sure have that mastered.

      by gmb on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:46:16 AM PDT

      •  I believe that he believes...

        ...that if he keeps telling himself that God has told or is telling him what to do, then it will come true.  I believe that he thinks God has planted his thoughts in his head.  And sometimes I believe that he thinks he is God.

        I don't think he is smart enough to be too cynical about this issue.

        by rserven on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:53:10 AM PDT

        •  That makes perfect sense. Thanks.

          by gmb on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:54:21 AM PDT

        •  I agree, Robyn --

          I really do think he believes it.  I think he believes all of it.  People come into his office and present information to him in a way that he can only make the choice they want, they tell him what a fine choice it is, and there you go.

          In psychology, a shared delusion between two people is called a folie a deux; I think something like this is operative in that White House.  I think its' groupthink totally out of control.

          They really do believe the shit they spew.

          by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:18:53 AM PDT

      •  I believe it is part of his self-delusion

        and a person can be addicted to God just like to booze.  that said, his so-called Christianity goes only as far as propping himself else; it has no further depth for him.  It's a construct like everything else that comforts him in the darkness of his (sorely deficient) soul.

        by marjo on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 06:38:32 AM PDT

•  Bush and health

  My brother, who is in medical school right now, thinks Bush is showing the signs of Parkinson's which may explain his continual decline in speaking ability, motor skills and frequent blinking.  

  by BLUE YETI on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 04:51:37 AM PDT

  •  I think he's got borderline

    personality disorder, and is decompensating.

    by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:19:29 AM PDT

•  clear to the American people?Why are we in Iraq?

  w's comment about wanting to be "clear "is so over due.I really am NOT clear from anything he has said ,about why we invaded,occupied and built bases in Iraq.It has never been clear why the "on the books laws" wernt enough to catch the bad guys,why  the Patriot Act and warrentless wiretapping?Why Iraq CPA full of crony "Know nothings",the likes of Chalibi,the likes of Halliburton and private security wacos and our underarmored equiptment for the troops ???all on my DIME(to the 100power)to cause mayhem????WTF??  

  by eddienic on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:01:54 AM PDT

•  I wonder every day...

  if they all actually believe what they are saying.  I think BushCo is so surrounded by good news only types, and that his friends: the oil companies, Halliburton, etc, are doing really well.  Therefore, he thinks it's all going so well.  

  Bleh.  

  by ThaliaR on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:33:20 AM PDT

  •  I think at some level,

    there are people around him who know what's really happening, but because of self-interest either cannot or will not admit it to themselves.

    I think Bush really does believe it.  They count on that.  They have to make sure that he does believe it.  The learned that well with Reagan.

    But Bush is in no real sense "in charge."  The people who feed him information are really in charge, and in most cases, those people are unaccountable to the American electorate.

    by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 06:08:14 AM PDT

    •  I agree completely.

      It's just so easy to say "I know there are people dying, people without health care, things going horribly wrong, but if I speak up, my way of life will fall apart, and I couldn't do that much anyway, so I'll just keep nodding my head yes."  

      And the ones who feed Bush info don't care.  As long as they stay rich and in power, they don't care.  

      by ThaliaR on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 06:47:20 AM PDT

•  It is those around him

  Marc, I am not sure it is dilluional as much as those who are around him are telling him he is right. If no one ever challenges you, are always telling you that you are right, we all might fall into the trap of believing we are always correct.

  Think of his speeches with "Normal Americans". He has hand picked crowds that agree with everything and if no one tells the emperor that he is naked, and he looks great in that suit, after a while even the emperor can think he is wearing a suit.

  The group that surrounds him seem to feed what ever it is. I do think he lacks intellectual curiosity which works out well for the group around him. He has no interest in even seeing the war that they are waging on the average Amerincan.

  by Doggie269 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:35:24 AM PDT

  •  The classic

    definition of "delusion" is "a fixed, false belief."

    It really doesn't refer to where the false belief comes from, but rather that it is a certainty in spite of the facts.

    True that I think he probably has very, very little access to what's really happening.  But I still think him delusional.  The more worrisome, and the point I think you're getting at, are those who are in contact with the evidence and refuse to modify their beliefs.

    That list goes from Cheney to republican congresscritters to Krauthammer and the rest of the Washington Conservative press corps.

    by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:38:32 AM PDT

    •  Hmmm

      How close is dillusion vs willful ignorance? If I believe X because I do not know X is wrong and everyone tells me X correct, am I dillusional or ignorant?

      by Doggie269 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:47:54 AM PDT

      •  Probably very close.

        But a good example of a Bush delusion is the idea that he's somehow been picked by god to be president.  That things are going well in Iraq.  That Republicans are good for the country.  Things like that.

        Ignorance means more like you've not had a chance to learn.  Bush has had chances; if he weren't such a petulant prick, people could actually tell him things he didn't really want to hear.  But he makes that impossible.

        by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:55:13 AM PDT

•  My question:

  How does a man who, as a key executive, help (direct? lead(ership)?) run four oil companies into the ground (which, in that niche, day, age, time, etc meant, in effect, buying high and selling lo), all quite quickly, yet sextupal the price of the same commodity in 6 years as Resident? Incredible.

  cdn

  by grndrush on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:48:46 AM PDT

  •  There was a great

    Vanity Fair piece about Bush's Texas history, published before the 2000 elections.  It did the whole schmear: how he was a horrible businessman, how he and his cronies used eminent domain to get land for the stadium that tripled the value of the Rangers, how he stacked regulatory commissions with people who were in bed with the industries they were supposed to regulate, his shady stock deals, and on and on.  He has been a colossal fuckup his whole life, and we knew it.  Molly Ivins was screaming her head off.

    But no one listened.

    by Marc in KS on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 05:53:20 AM PDT