Every president ages in office. Sometimes the effects are more pronounced than others. Some presidents look older, developing grey hair, lots of wrinkles, bags under the eyes, and so forth. Others show alternate symptoms.
Which brings us to a topic I've addressed before -- Bush's cardiovascular health.
I'm bringing it up again because there is renewed talk about the marked change in Bush's demeanor since the days when he was governor of Texas. Joe Scarborough is just the latest person to observe that Bush's mental acuity has gone into a sharp decline since the early 90's.
Shouldn't the American people be fully informed about their President's health? This issue surfaced very briefly during the 2004 campaign when some observers noticed that strange bulge under Bush's suit jacket during all three debates (and other times as well). Many thought it was a portable radio receiver, but I (and many others) thought otherwise -- that the evidence was clear that he was wearing a wearable defibrillator.
And now, because talk of Bush's mental deterioration is not subsiding but growing louder (think of his performance at the G8 conference), it might be time to raise the issue again.
What is the evidence?
First of all, during the '04 debates, there is no denying that Bush was wearing something under his clothing. These three pictures are from each of the three debates.
...and there's this picture from the ranch.
Then there's this picture of LifeCor's wearable defibrillator -- LifeVest.
Is this definitive proof that Bush is wearing the LifeVest? No. Especially since there has been no prior indication that Bush has a heart problem.
However, we do know that President Bush 41 suffers from atrial fibrillation. And studies have shown that "having a parent with atrial fibrillation (AF) strongly increased an offspring's risk of developing this heart rhythm disorder, according to a study of participants in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's (NHLBI) Framingham Heart Study."
Atrial fibrillation can lead to mini-strokes. Many observers have commented on the marked decline in Bush's verbal ability over the last ten years or so. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that (at the final debate in 2004) one side of Bush's face showed evidence of droopiness.
Then there are all the apocryphal stories of Bush cocaine abuse. Whether these rumors are true or not, it is not uncommon for men who have serious heart problems in their 30s-50s have had a history of cocaine/methamphetamine use.
Speaking of cocaine abuse, the Reggie Lewis story comes to mind. Lewis played pro-basketball for the Boston Celtics in the early 90s. He was in top form. Then he had a couple of incidents where he fainted and fell down. Then, a couple of months later, he was suddenly dead of heart failure. Whether Lewis died from a heart damaged by cocaine -- as many doctors suspected then and now -- cannot be definitively shown. The official autopsy stated that his heart was weakened by a common-cold virus.
But the fainting and falling part sounds familiar, doesn't it? How many times have you heard the story of Pres. Bush fainting after "choking on a pretzel?"
For those who might be thinking that the SCA-prone Bush would not (could not, should not) engage in the kind of physical activity he is known for, well, LifeCor promotes their product as enabling the wearer to engage in exactly that kind of activity. That's one of the benefits of the product.
OK. Wouldn't all of this already come out? Like in the results of his annual physical? Given this administration's penchant for secrecy, perhaps not.
Does any of this prove that Bush has donned a wearable defibrillator? Nope. But don't you think there's enough evidence now to convince someone to ask some very specific questions?
I'm just saying.
P.S. "Dick" Cheney donned a wearable defibrillator prior to receiving an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
(HT to Kevin Drum, heynewt, msaroff.)
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