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 characteristic 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 thyroid 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 thyroid 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 hyperthyroid 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 hyperthyroid 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 missiles. 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 exhausted 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 weird 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 traveling 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]

August 14: Bush's rage profile was once more on display as he called for an extension of the federal death penalty in a Pittsburgh speech that was also full of racist overtones. Addressing the National Convention of the Fraternal Order of Police, Bush ranted that "the time has come to show less compassion for the architects of crime and more compassion for its victims. Our citizens want and deserve to feel safe." "We must remember that the first obligation of a penal system is to punish those who break our laws....You can't turn bad people into saints." Bush wanted courts to be able to use evidence that had been seized illegally: "There's no reason -- none at all-- that good police officers should be penalized and criminals freed because a judge or a lawyer bungled a search warrant." Journalists noted that the speech and the setting were typical of the standard campaign event of 1988, which was often a police group endorsing Bush, courtesy of the CIA Office of Security. The photo of Bush in the Washington Post is expressive of Bush's anger when making the speech. [fn 57]

August 21: The Soviet putsch was a trying time for Bush, who staked a great deal on his deal with Gorbachov. A remarkable flare- up by Bush came in response to the opinion expressed by Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the president of the Republic of Georgia, that Gorbachov was part of the conspiracy behind the coup. Bush, asked for a reaction, was incensed:

Bush: --say to him he needs to get a little work done on the kind of statements he's making. I mean that's ridiculous. There's a man who has been also swimming against the tide, it seems to me, a little bit. And I don't want to go overboard on this, but he ought to get with it and understand what's happening around the world.

Q: Are you saying that--

Bush: To suggest that President Gorbachov would plot to put the people of the Soviet Union through this kind of trauma and the rest of the world through it just makes absolutely no sense at all. Now, I haven't heard him say that, so I want to hedge it. You've told me he said it; I haven't heard it. So, I've got to be very careful I don't react to something that may not be true. I learned that one a long time ago.

Here we can see that Bush pulled himself together just enough to leave himself an escape hatch after he had blown his top.

September 11: In a photo opportunity with Congressmen in which he was asked about his demand that the Congress postpone a vote on loan guarantees for Israel until January, 1992, so as to permit a Middle East peace conference to take place in the meantime, Bush showed flareups of rage. Bush's ploy was widely thought to be part of the preparation of an Israeli "breakaway ally" scenario, in which Israel, defying the wishes of Washington, would wage war against Jordan, mass-deport the Palestinians, and possibly attack other Arab states. Bush had been accused of anti-semitism by a minority member of the Israeli cabinet. Was he going to lose a confrontation with the formidable Zionist lobby? This issue was Bush's obsession of the moment; his reply was testy and full of veiled threats: "Well, I don't know what you mean by lose on it. What I'm for is the peace process to be successful, and we're working diligently for that. [...] And so, what I'm suggesting is a simple delay here, in my view and in the view of all of us in the administration, is the best way to set the proper tone for these talks to start. And I feel very strongly about it. So, it's not a question of winning or losing in my view. Strong-willed people look at these matters differently. My view is that a delay is in the interest, and I'm going to fight for it. And I think the American people will back me on it if we take the case to the people. But what we're really trying to do is work it out without getting into a lot of confrontation." Was a confrontation not already taking place ? Bush answered, with his rage quotient rising: "I can take quite a few punches. We're talking about working harmoniously together in the spirit of cooperation. And I've seen comments from abroad that I didn't particularly appreciate. But we're the United States of America, and we have a leadership role around the world that has to be fulfilled. And I'm calling the shots in this question in the way that I think is best. And I've got some selling to do with certain Members of Congress, and that's understandable to me. So, we'll see how it comes out. But I'm not approaching this in the spirit of confrontation if that's the question. You haven't seen any real controversial statements coming out of here up till now."

September 12: At a press conference, the issue of the Israeli loan guarantee postponement was once again the central theme. Bush was in a controlled rage state during his opening statement, and went ballistic during the questioning. A questioner noted that Bush sounded "very tough" on insisting on the delay. Bush:

I just sound principled. I am convinced that this debate would be counterproductive to peace. And I owe it to the Member of Congress to say it as forcefully as I can. I've worn out of the telephone in there and one ear, and I'm going to move to the other ear and keep on it. Because this is, peace is vital here, and we've worked too hard to have that request of mine denied. And I think the American people will support me. They know we support Israel. I've just detailed some of what we've done. So, there should be no question about that. I am giving the Congress -- and I did it with the leaders today, having an opportunity here, thank you, to do it here- - to give my best judgment. And I'm up against some powerful political forces, but I owe it to the American people to tell them how strongly I feel about the deferral.

Q: Are those powerful political forces ungrateful for what you've done so far on a peace process? And why doesn't the peace argument sell with them?

Bush: I think it will sell, but it's taken a little time. And we're up against a very strong and effective, sometimes, groups that go up to the Hill. I heard today there was something like a thousand lobbyists on the Hill working the other side of the question. We've got one lonely little guy down here doing it. However, I like this forum better too.

This last passage was suffused with apoplectic fury. In the next question, Bush was asked if a columnist was right in commenting on Bush's stance, "It's your obsession." Bush denied it, but it was clear to all that he was both enraged and obsessed. [52 bis]

Later Bush and his handlers concluded that he had overdone it, especially in his attack on the 1,000 Zionist lobbyists, and sent a letter to the heads of several Jewish organizations repeating his demand for the delay, but also saying that he was "concerned" lest his September 10 comments might have "caused apprehension" in the Jewish community; Bush reassured them that he "never meant to be pejorative in any sense." In a news analysis published 8 days later, a Washington Post observer found that Bush's "ardor is fueled by his anger," and quoted an unnamed official that for Bush the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories was "a visceral thing." [fn 58]

September 18: In a demagogic photo opportunity at the Grand Canyon, Bush again threatened to renew the bombing of Iraq. In remarks that recalled his psychotic rages against Saddam Hussein during the Gulf crisis, Bush raved that he was "fed up" with Saddam. Bush said that Saddam "may be testing and probing" his resolve, "but he knows better than to take on the United States of America." "I think the man will see that we are very serious about this, and he will do what he should have done in the first place: disclose and comply."

October 11: Hoping that public attention was fixed on the Senate testimony of Anita Hill, Bush vetoed a bill to extend unemployment payments to more than 2 million Americans whose jobless benefits had run out. Bush had prepared this veto with a furious outburst against such an extension. At a $1000-a-plate Republican fundraising dinner in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Bush had lashed out angrily at a Congress which was "doing nothing but griping -- refusing to consider the new ideas and sending me a bunch of garbage I will not sign. I'll continue to veto the bad stuff until we get good bills." Bush's argument was that the prolonged unemployment benefits were not needed because the recession was over anyway. He stressed his responsibility not to break the October, 1990 budget agreement, which by that time was producing a budget deficit officially admitted to be over $1 billion per day. Later, as the existence of the depression began to penetrate the public consciousness, Bush had to backtrack on this tirade. [fn 61]

October 24: Attempting to focus public anger on Congress in the wake of the Clarence Thomas hearings, Bush attacked the lawmakers as "a privileged class of rulers." "When Congress exempts itself from the very laws it writes for others, it strikes at its own reputation and shatters public confidence in government," he said. This was a transparent bid to increase police-state attacks on the Congress by subjecting the legislative branch to the oversight of law enforcement agencies which are part of the executive, a favorite Bush obsession. Bush demanded a special prosecutor to investigate the leaks of FBI information during the Thomas hearings, and said that FBI reports would henceforth only be shown, not given to the Hill. As Bush read through his tirade, his face twisted and tightened into a mask of rage and hate. At one point, perhaps in response to signals from his handlers, he paused and apologized to the audience for getting so worked up, but the issue meant a lot to him. [fn 62]

October 30: Commenting on Bush's surprising acceptance of a compromise civil rights bill, Evans and Novak report that "Bush's capitulation on racial quotas has again chilled conservative Republicans still suffering from the year-old wound of his tax retreat." The columnists quote Democratic Rep. Vin Weber saying that "It's a sign that their reactions in times of crisis are not good." [fn 63] For months, Bush had sought to attack this legislation as a quota bill, and it was clear that he was preparing to use this as a way to inject racism into his 1992 campaign. Indeed, the racism/quota issue was widely seen as one of the few domestic wedge issues Bush could use for his campaign: his plan was to tell the white middle class that their economic decimation was the fault of blacks and other minorities benefiting from affirmative action programs. Then, in the wake of the Thomas hearings, he accepted a compromise and lost the issue. Was this an impulsive, hyperthyroid decision?

October 31: Bush held the first official event of his re-election campaign on Halloween; it was a $1000-a-plate fundraiser at the Sheraton Astrodome in Houston. Bush offered an irate defense of his tenure in the presidency. But the audience of 800 GOP fat cats gave Bush only a tepid response. In the words of Elizabeth Ray, a local Republican candidate for district judge, "I thought the dinner was very subdued. Halfway into [Bush's] speech, people were still not clapping at some of the traditional times, and I thought to myself, 'This is a very odd crowd.'" "It wasn't a pep rally," agreed her husband, a Houston business consultant. The heart of Bush's highly piqued performance was in these lines:

Anyone who says we should retreat into an isolationistic cocoon is living in the last century, when we should be focused on the next century and the lives our children will lead. And they should know America's destiny has always been to lead. And if I have anything to do with it, lead we will...I'm not going to let liberal Democratic carping keep me from leading.

When Bush said "carping," he seemed to spit and hiss at the same time. Then, with his bile and adrenaline building to a crescendo of rage, Bush recalled the Gulf war and how far Schwarzkopf would have gotten if Congress had been in command. "Thank God I didn't have to listen to these carpers telling me how to run that war," Bush exploded in a paroxysm of fury. The implication was also clear: to checkmate Congress, go to war.

It was during this trip to Texas that Bush began spouting his favorite anticyclical line, that it was a great time to buy a house and to buy a car. Many people across America thought that they were having enough trouble buying groceries.

Bush's outburst this time reflected the rising tide of public awareness of the economic depression, and demands that he change his policy. Senator Mitchell had assailed Bush with unusual energy, noting that "President Bush's record for economic growth and job creation is worse than for any other president since Herbert Hoover. During Bush's presidency, our country has grown at a slower rate, with fewer jobs created than during any other presidency in the past 60 years." That hurt. Secretary Brady was later sent out to complain that he could not "understand why it is a function of leadership to try and remind the people in this country of the recession and Herbert Hoover." [fn 64] Brady was afraid even of the word, "depression." Earlier the same day Bush had taken part in a "virtual political brawl" in the cabinet room over the impact of the depression on politics, with predictions of the defeat of Bush's candidate, administrative fascist Richard Thornburgh, in the all-important Pennsylvania senate race. Bush's response had been primarily one of recrimination, judging from published accounts: he excoriated Republican congressional leaders for not toeing his line in the October, 1990 budget battles. Bush told these leaders that he did not think he could depend on Congressional Republicans voting with him if an economic package also contained new taxes. The meeting had been tense and acrimonious. [fn 65]

A comment in Newsweek noted that "at a Houston fund-raising banquet last week, the president sounded downright petulant discussing the economy, as if he'd been forced to eat broccoli for dinner." [fn 66]

November 2: Bush's psychological stability was further impacted by the devastation of his home at Walker's Point, in Kennebunkport, Maine, by a severe Atlantic storm. Because he was under fire for representing only the wealthy, he flew to Maine on a small executive jet, the military equivalent of a Grumman Gulfstream, rather than using Air Force One, a Boeing 747. The furniture and some walls on the ground floor were destroyed, and there was a considerable loss of family memorabilia. Bush found a photograph of father Prescott in a swampy area several hundred feet from the house. "It's devastating." "I can't believe it," said Bush. "A lot of this [was] stuff that you would call dear, not valuable, but things we bought in China or different trips. It's personal. You'll see 'em floating around out here." Bush also referred mystically to the importance of rebuilding and keeping a home by the ocean: "We'll be here. It means something to us. It's our family strength, being this close to the ocean. We'll figure it out." Bushwatchers sensed that Bush's mental instability could only be exacerbated by this trauma. [fn 67] Bush once again looked ghastly on this outing, and about as old as King Canute.

November 5: This was election day, and exit polls in the late afternoon showed a decisive defeat of Thornburgh in Pennsylvania, reflecting rising popular resentment of the Bush regime. The next day, Bush was scheduled to depart for a NATO meeting and Rome and then for a meeting with the leaders of the European Community in The Hague. But, abruptly and in time for the evening news programs, Bush announced that he was canceling a later 10-day trip that was scheduled to have taken him to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Australia. The rationale offered for this reversal was that Bush wanted to stay in Washington until the end of November and work on getting his "domestic legislative package" through Congress. This explanation was incongruous for at least two reasons: first, the Congressional leadership clearly hoped to adjourn and go home for Thanksgiving recess by the time that Bush's scheduled trip to the Orient was to have begun. Secondly, Bush had no domestic legislative package.

Some of Bush's closest associates were dismayed by his rapid collapse under pressure. "It makes it look like the Democrats have us on the total run," one senior administration official told the Washington Post. "This is ridiculous. We look like we're running around like chickens with our heads cut off," said a GOP official with close ties to the White House. The impression was that Bush had panicked when he became aware that the Democratic National Committee had produced a t-shirt celebrating Bush's "Anywhere but America Tour," listing trips completed and planned during 1991. Bush, who was watching his own support and popularity decline inexorably in the polls, had apparently been stampeded by the defeat of Thornburgh and wanted to propitiate public opinion by staying home. It looked very much like a hyperthyroid decision.

This impression was magnified by the chaotic way that Bush's cancellation became known. According to the Washington Post "the shock of Bush's decision was intensified in Washington and Asia by the manner of its revelation. A White House official involved in trip planning said he heard of the postponement late Tuesday after a high-level meeting and just minutes before learning that NBC News had obtained the story, which was broadcast on its evening news program. Several Asian embassies in Washington heard the news from the press reports before receiving official word from the White House." On the way to Rome the next day, Bush was heard to complain about what he perhaps considered a leak: "You got the message oozed out of the White House before we had a chance to properly notify the parties," he berated the press on board Air Force One. "You guys are too good." [fn 68]

Sometime during October, Bush had discussed with his handlers the possibility of canceling the Asia trip while simultaneously proposing a set of measures allegedly designed to improve economic conditions, and challenging the Congress to stay in town long enough to pass this package. But Bush had been unable to assemble any such set of measures. One GOP official complained that Bush's announcement late on election day, 1991 was "a cancellation without a purpose. This is nuts." [fn 69] This Asian trip, featuring a stopover in Japan, was later re-scheduled to start on December 30 and to extend through the first week of the New Year. It was during this trip that Bush vomited and collapsed to the floor during a state dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Miyazawa.

November 6: On the morning after the election, Bush had announced a 6:40 AM press conference in order to put on a demagogic show of concern for the plight of those born on the wrong side of the tracks before jetting off to a NATO summit in Rome. He admitted that he was "depressed" over the defeat of Thornburgh because the latter was such a good man. He lamely tried to explain his decision to remain in Washington at the end of the month as based on his experience that "all kinds of crazy things can happen with this crowd that controls the Senate and House." But Bush had another big flip-flop to offer: although he still denied the existence of a "recession," he was now concerned about "people that are hurting," and for these he was willing to "go the extra mile." He was now seeking a compromise bill to extend unemployment benefits. Within a week, a compromise had been reached with most of the concessions coming from Bush, on the model of the civil rights bill. Was it another impulsive, hyperthyroid moment? [fn 70]

November 7: During his address to the NATO summit of 16 heads of state and heads of government, Bush departed from his prepared text and inserted the following sentence off the cuff into his remarks:

If, my friends, your ultimate aim is to provide independently for your own defense, the time to tell us is today.

This was in many respects the most astounding threat ever made by an American president to the leaders of the North Atlantic Alliance, which had always been considered, since 1949, as the cornerstone of US foreign policy. Bush now called the Atlantic Pact into question, apparently in a fit of rage. Press reports spoke of "clouds of suspicion" separating Bush from France and Germany; the State Department and the British were known to be hysterical about plans to expand the existing Franco-German brigade into a larger unit. US officials told one reporter that Bush had become "exasperated" by the Byzantine tactics of Tonton Mitterrand, known in Paris as "Le Florentin" in a misguided tribute to Machiavelli. These frictions apparently had contributed to Bush's outburst. James Baker and other spin doctors tried to play down the importance of this shocking episode. [fn 71]

November 8: At a press conference in Rome, Bush turned in yet another furious tantrum. The basic issues were that his travel obsession had been denied, and that he did not want to brook increasing criticism. Bush "complained bitterly" that he had been forced to abandon his prized trip to Asia owing to "some carping by people that don't understand" his awesome responsibilities as world leader. Bush angrily maintained that to be "driven away" from an Asia trip "by people holding up silly T-shirts is ridiculous." As one journalist saw the scene, "Bush, his voice rising and eyelids narrowing, talked at length about a president's responsibilities in foreign policy and the importance of Japan to American jobs. His passionate response contained an undercurrent of regret that he approved the cancellation that some Republicans said this week was precipitous and too reactive to the Democrats." Had calling off the trip somehow interfered with Bush's plans for unleashing the next war? Bush reverted to his favorite theme of his war leadership: "If I had had to listen to advice" of Congressional Democrats "to do something about the Persian Gulf, we'd have still been sitting there in the United States, fat, dumb, and happy, with Saddam Hussein maybe in Saudi Arabia." Bush also continued to deny the depression: "I'm not prepared to say we're in recession." For him, an alleged growth rate of 2.4% "is not recession. It does not fit the definition of recession." [fn 72]

November 12: Bush's countenance was once more a mask of rage, venom, and hatred as he stumbled through another $1000-a-plate Republican fundraising dinner in Manhattan. He appeared thin and drawn. The take for Bush's campaign was estimated at $2.2 million, but press reports indicated that Bush's enraged monologue "prompted little applause or enthusiasm as the president moved from one topic to another, rarely devoting more than a few seconds to any theme." Bush's delivery was halting and confused, with signs of evident dissociation and a truncated attention span. The essence of the speech was a paranoid, self-righteous defense against critics named and unnamed. Bush labeled his tormentors as "tawdry," "phony," and "second- guessers." He pounded the lectern as he ranted, "I'm not going to be the javelin-catcher for the liberals in Congress anymore." "I am not going to apologize for one minute that I devote to advancing our economic principles abroad or working for world peace," postured the president of two wars and counting.

November 12: Bush, speaking in New York and fumbling for bits of demagogy on the economic situation, expressed a vague desire to see lower interest rates for credit card holders. Many observers say that the two sentences on this topic uttered by Bush that day had been interpolated by chief of staff Sununu; Sununu later accused Bush of having ad-libbed the pronouncement on his own initiative. One day later, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill to cap credit card interest rates. With this, the secondary market in credit card debt collapsed, threatening to blow off the coverup of the bankruptcy of the largest US banks. On Friday, November 15, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 4% of its value within a few hours, the biggest collapse since October 13, 1989. Bush, running for cover, hastily dispatched Treasury Secretary Brady to denounce the interest cap as "wacky." It was yet another impulsive volte-face by the erratic and unstable Bush.

November 20: With Bush scheduled to sign a civil rights bill containing provisions which Bush had stigmatized as quotas and sworn he would resist to the death, the White House circulated a directive to federal agencies mandating the termination of all hiring policies designed to favor minority groups or women. Bush had not wanted any civil rights bill to be passed, preferring to keep the race issue in his quiver for the 1992 election, but he had been intimidated by the threat that Sen. Danforth and other Republicans would support a Democrat-sponsored bill, leaving Bush painfully isolated. That had already been an impulsive decision.

Now Bush's attempted sleight of hand, signing a bill and simultaneously removing the hiring policies, caused a furor. "The president would have to lose his mind to make this statement," said Kerry Scanlon, a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Within hours, the offending directive had been withdrawn, and blamed exclusively on Boy Gray, the White House resident racist who had indeed drafted the directive, but on instructions from Bush. It was yet another example of an impulsive snap decision made by Bush under pressure. Intriguingly, November 20 was also the day that Bush personally pronounced the much-tabooed word: "DEPRESSION." "I don't want to emphasize just the bad things, to talk us into a depression," he had told some television stations owned by NBC. It was a landmark: presidents had made that word taboo for many decades. [fn 73]

Towards the end of November, the pendulum of Bush's unpredictability had swing back: the Asia trip was being rescheduled for about a month later than originally planned. By now, the media were harping on the evident "disarray" in the White House, but none seemed to recall the thyroid episode of the springtime, nor the psychopathological trigger for the thyroid condition.

Sometime during November, just about the time his approval ratings were about to go below 50%, Bush apparently received urgent advice to moderate his "mad dog" public profile in favor of a more conciliatory and affable posture. This occurred during the same month. 0hatever the details that led to the renovation of his image, he now began to exhibit concern for the victims of the Bush depression who, according to his litany, he now understood were "hurting." He began smiling more, and hissing somewhat less. Photo opportunities began to depict him fraternizing with the common people.

But that postponed Far East trip continued to loom as Bush's nemesis. Because of his desire to be seen doing something to improve the lot of the common man, Bush's handlers repackaged this trip as a crusade to open foreign markets to US exports, thus helping to defend American jobs. Bush accordingly took along the widely discredited top executives of GM, Ford, and Chrysler to symbolize his commitment to the moribund US auto industry. These figures functioned like a Greek chorus of negative spin, pointing up Bush's misadventures and failures. The most outspoken of the Big Three bosses was predictably Chrysler's Lee Iacocca, of whom one reporter said that he would probably complain if the sun came up.

Bush displayed decided mental instability during this trip. In Canberra, Australia, he flashed a well-known obscene gesture to a group of farmers who were protesting his "free trade" farm policies. Bush told a luncheon cruise in Sydney harbor, "I'm a man that knows every hand gesture you've ever seen-- and I haven't learned a new one since I've been here." As the Washington Post reported, "Down here, holding up the first two fingers to form a "V" with the back of the hand toward the subject is the same as holding up the middle finger in the United States. And that's just what Bush did from his limousine to a group of protesters as his motorcade passed through Canberra yesterday, apparently not knowing its significance. Or maybe he did." [fn 74] One is reminded of Nelson Rockefeller's antics on at least one occasion.

Then came Bush's visit to Japan, crowned by his seizure at a state dinner in the official residence of Prime Minister Miyazawa. Bush had vomited at least once before the dinner. "I got a preview in the receiving line. I turned to the prime minister and said, 'Would you please excuse me,' and I rushed into the men's room there. And I thought that had taken care of it, but back I came. It hadn't been halted. It was just the beginning." [fn 75] According to Treasury Secretary Brady, Bush had been urged to skip the state dinner altogether by his personal physician, Dr. Burton Lee, but Bush had rejected this advice out of hand, saying that his absence would "disrupt" the proceedings. [fn 76] After the vomiting and fainting scene was over, Bush was asked if he intended to slow down. "Nope," Bush retorted. It's just a 24-hour flu." [fn 77] The truth about Bush's collapse in Tokyo has yet to be told; but it was clear that Bush had learned nothing, and was still determined to impose his will on the universe. Bush's first efforts at campaign oratory after his return from Japan indicated that rage was once again winning the upper hand, which was not a good sign for Bush's ability to function on the campaign trail.

In the light of the evidence reviewed here, it is evident that Bush's marked tendency towards rage episodes, public fits of anger, and obsessive fixations has not subsided. Indeed, Bush's uncontrollable temper tantrums have been if anything more severe during October and November, 1991, as his presidency began to buckle under the strain of the economic depression Bush was unable and unwilling to overcome. We must therefore conclude that the treatment received by Bush for his thyroid condition during May, 1991 and the successive months has not remedied the mental and cognitive disturbances which were at the root of Bush's psychosomatic affliction, Basedow's disease. This means that Bush's health, and most especially his mental health, must be considered a decisive issue for the 1992 presidential campaign. Citizens must accordingly set aside White House propaganda statements and carefully consider the advisability of returning to the White House an individual who has demonstrably experienced psychotic episodes during his tenure in the White House, and who has presented no convincing evidence of remission.

NOTES:

1. "Tough and Tender Talk," People Weekly, December 17, 1990, p. 52.

2. Anton Chaitkin, Treason in America, (New York, 1985), p. 476 ff.

3. Cited in Chaitkin, p. 478.

4. Elizabeth Drew, Portrait of an Election, (New York, 1981), p. 106.

5. J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, (New York: Bantam, 1986), p. 1.

6. F. Scott Fitzgerald, This Side of Paradise, New York: Scribners, 1960), p. 128.

7. Mary McGrory, "The Babbling Bush," Washington Post, September 29, 1988.

8. Mary McGrory, loc. cit.

9. Maureen Dowd, "The Language Thing," The New York Times Magazine, July 29, 1990.

10. Maureen Dowd, loc. cit.

11. Maureen Dowd, loc. cit.

12. David Hoffman, "Reading Bush's Lips," Washington Post, December 4, 1988.

13. Maureen Dowd, op. cit.

14. David Hoffman, op. cit.

15. David Hoffman, loc. cit.

16. David Hoffman, loc. cit.

17. Maureen Dowd, op. cit.

18. David Hoffman, op. cit.

19. Maureen Dowd, op. cit.

20. "Bush to News Media: Mum's Going to Be the Word," Washington Post, February 16, 1990.

21. "Bush Tells 'Slovenly' Press to Shape Up," Washington Post, May 13, 1990.

22. "Transitioning in Florida," Washington Post, November 12, 1988.

23. Gil Klein, "Bush Not Man to Sit Still," Media General Newspapers for the Sherman, Texas Democrat, September 7, 1989.

24. Dan Balz, "The 18-Hole Drive to Play on Par With the President," Washington Post, Sept. 3, 1990.

25. David Hoffman, "See How He Plays," Washington Post, September 3, 1989.

26. "Peripatetic Bush to Break Nixon Travel Record," Washington Post, July 27, 1991.

27. George Bush and Vic Gold, Looking Forward (New York: Doubleday, 1987), p. 11-12.

28. "Bush Has 'Early Glaucoma' In Left Eye, Tests Disclose," Washington Post, April 13, 1990.

29. "President Assails Silencing of Unpopular Viewpoints," Washington Post, May 5, 1991.

30. "Bush Diagnosis: Thyroid Ailment," Washington Post, May 8, 1991.

31. "The Path to Diagnosis of the President's Ailment," Washington Post, May 11, 1991.

32. Washington Post, May 10, 1991.

33. New York Times, May 29, 1991.

34. New York Times>, May 22, 1991.

35. Washington Times, May 29, 1991.

36. Mary McGrory, "China and an Imperial President," Washington Post, May 30, 1991.

37. Washington Post, September 6, 1991.

38. "Bush Gets 'Medical Stamp of Approval' for '92," Washington Post, September 14, 1991.

39. Lawrence K. Altman, MD, "President's Thyroid: Questions of Mood," New York Times, May 21, 1991.

40. Abigail Trafford, "Me, Bush and Graves' Disease," Washington Post, May 21, 1991.

41. Lillian Sholtis Brunner and Doris Smith Suddarth, Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1964), pp. 796, 798.

42. Statement issued May 29, 1991, in What Does Candidate LaRouche Think of Bush's Mental Health (Washington: Democrats for Economic Recovery, LaRouche in '92: 1991), p. 3.

43. William Safire, "After the Flutter," New York Times, May 20, 1991.

44. "President is Buoyant About Health, Work," Washington Post, May 23, 1991.

45. "Bush Drops Hint He Won't Run in '92," New York Post, June 17, 1991.

46. "Among Notables, Bush Plays One Tough Room," New York Times, June 17, 1991.

47. Frank J. Murray, "First lady longs to have her husband to herself," Washington Times, June 17, 1991.

48. "First Lady: Bush Must Run Again," Washington Post, August 1, 1991.

49. "Lead Found in Quayles' Water Supply," Washington Post, June 23, 1991.

50. Washington Post, August 4, 1991.

51. Andrew Rosenthal, "Shedding Tears, Bush Tells Baptists of Praying as Gulf War Neared," New York Times, June 7, 1991.

52. Andrew Rosenthal, "Among Notables, Bush Plays One Tough Room," New York Times, June 17, 1991.

53. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Vol. XXVII, No. 28 (July 15, 1991), pp. 941, 944-947.

54. "Peripatetic Bush to Break Travel Record," Washington Post, July 27, 1991.

55. "President Sounds Themes of Likely '92 Campaign," Washington Post, August 3, 1991. Photos of a furious Bush are on page A1 and page A4.

56. New York Times, July 25, 1991.

57. "Bush Anti-Crime Speech Echoes 1988 Campaign," Washington Post, August 15, 1991.

58. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, September 12, 1991, pp. 1242, 1253-1254.

59. "Bush Tries to Ease Loan Crisis," Washington Post, September 20, 1991.

60. Washington Post, September 19, 1991.

61. "Bush Vetoes $6.4 Billion Bill to Extend Jobless Benefits," Washington Post, October 12, 1991.

62. "Bush Launches Strike at Congress," Washington Post, October 25, 1991.

63. Evans and Novak, "It was a Surrender on Quotas," October 30, 1991.

64. "Brady Favors Additional Interest rate Reductions," Washington Post, November 8, 1991.

65. "President Hits Back at Critics," Washington Post, November 1, 1991.

66. "Dragging Bush Home For Broccoli," Newsweek, November 11, 1991.

67. "For the First Family, a Sense of Loss," Washington Post, November 3, 1991.

68. "Deferral of Trip Raises Problems for US Policy," Washington Post, November 7, 1991.

69. "Bush Cancels Pacific Trip," Washington Post, November 6, 1991.

70. Washington Post, November 7, 1991.

71. "Bush Challenges Europeans To Define US NATO Role," Washington Post, November 8, 1991.

72. "President Defends Foreign Policy, Attacks Congressional Democrats," Washington Post, November 9, 1991.

73. Washington Post, November 21, 1991.

74. Washington Post, January 3, 1992.

75. Washington Post, January 9, 1992.

76. Washington Post, January 11, 1992.

77. Washington Post, January 9, 1992.

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