[Paul]

Bush is on anti-depressants?

Ok, so it may not be the most reliable source in the world, but these are some big time names that are being pushed around...

I'd like to get other people's opinion about it. Is this a plausible situation... Is Bush loony?

I believe that there is nothing wrong with taking medication for mental disorders, but I do believe that if this is the case that he should resign. This seriously scares me.

Funny, the rumors about Cheney getting a new doctor to declare him medically unfit to serve seem quite ironic right now.

[Messiahtosh]

Actually, the article is a lot of BS. Bush has a short, texas temper, but a nut? No. Everyone still remembers the "world class asshole" quote, but what politician doesnt have a shorter than average fuse?

Bush aint the smartest, most charismatic, most intellectual, articulate President, but he is definitley not crazy.

[LoCash]

I lot of powerful, successful people are on anti-depressant medication. You'd be surprised, and being on the meds doesn't mean you have some amazing chemical imbalance or mood problem. I mean, we'd need to know the meds, his dosage, etceteras.

[ast3r3x]

Very interesting at least.

[Barto]

This is about George W Bush, and him using antidepressants. While personally I would not have a problem with him taking them, I can understand why some people would be freaked out.

Anyone got any relevant, unique and new information about John Kerry? That's good, why don't you post it rather than trolling/flaming. Or better yet start a different thread about it rather than hi-jacking an existing one.

[thuh Freak]

the anti-depressants themselves don't scare me. afterall, they are given (by medical professionals) to help. the scary part is how the president is portrayed by that site. but it reaks of exaggeration or sensationalism. i have a feeling its bunk.

if it is true, i think it would be preferable to tell the public about it. admittedly, most people will just dismiss bush as a crazy man or something, but if they tried hard enough they could teach us about his mental state. and explain the severity or lack of severity of the situation. clearly anyone who does know about it, and continues to hide it, is convinced that he's sufficiently stable to act in office. not telling the public, to me, implies that there is something to hide. ie, that his situation is out of an acceptable range; or, that its all just made up by this teresa hampton chick.

[Wrao]

I'm sorry, but This picture, from the original CapitalBlue article on the topic, is hilarious.




As for bush being emotionally unstable...I dunno, I'd imagine that if he is, like, assuming he's had these issues his whole life but never was treated, then being the president can't be doing *anything* to help his mental state.(unless you count the ability to get the best meds available)

The stuff that interested me the most in the article, mainly because this is the vibe I've always got from bush...

Originally Posted by Article Dr. Frank diagnosed the President as a “paranoid meglomaniac” and “untreated alcoholic” whose “lifelong streak of sadism, ranging from childhood pranks (using firecrackers to explode frogs) to insulting journalists, gloating over state executions and pumping his hand gleefully before the bombing of Baghdad”

I dunno, if there is any veracity to this statement, it's pretty disturbing...

[Kickaha]

Yeah, and Kennedy was on enough painkillers for most of his presidency to make Rush look like a Clean & Sober member. The point of this thread was... ??

I'd rather have an emotionally unstable president on proper meds than *NOT* on proper meds... and I fail to see how anyone who actually aspired to the position could be emotionally stable in the first place. :P

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by Kickaha I'd rather have an emotionally unstable president on proper meds than *NOT* on proper meds... and I fail to see how anyone who actually aspired to the position could be emotionally stable in the first place. :P

Definitely.

[scratt]

Anti-depressants have been shown, and will be increasingly shown, to be dangerous, damaging drugs. They do not treat a problem... they only mask it (badly) for some time.

The combination is a scary one for the whole world.
Role on a chnage of power in the US.

Cheers,
scratt

[Luca]

I've reopened this thread and removed the one-sided political bashing. Hopefully we can have a good, mature discussion of prominent people on anti-depressants.

I was on them myself at one point, and I can say that they definitely work. Given the amount of stress I was under at the time, I can't imagine the President NOT having serious problems with stress that could warrant the use of anti-depressants.

Now, which anti-depressants he is using could be important. There are weaker ones, like Wellbutrin (or even the St. John's Wort supplement, which I have used and yes, it did seem to work), that might be good for just keeping a level head. I might be worried if he was taking the stronger stuff, like Paxil maybe.

[Kickaha]

Agreed - I can also confirm that they can work extremely well in many situations. They're not something I'd want to be on long term, but for short term (months) pressure situations, or for those whose brains are locked in cycles, they can be very a beneficial supplement to more thorough therapy.

[thegelding]

if it keeps him from blowing up frogs with firecrackers, then i'm all for it...i say "medicate the hell out of the sucka"


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[xionja]

The prescription drugs, administered by Col. Richard J. Tubb, the White House physician, can impair the President’s mental faculties and decrease both his physical capabilities and his ability to respond to a crisis, administration aides admit privately.

He does have a history of falling off of things, no?

Pretty creepy if the article is acurate. I don't believe that somebody who is mentally unstable should be elected to a high office. If the stress of being the president caused mental issues on a otherwise stable person, then I would think the medication is justified.

[Kickaha]

In my opinion, only mentally unstable people seek office in the *FIRST* place.

[thegelding]

Originally Posted by Kickaha In my opinion, only mentally unstable people seek office in the *FIRST* place.

yes...anybody who wants to be president, shouldn't be allowed

and anybody who would make a great president would never think of running

i think we should do extensive testing and "force" the best person to be president

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[Kickaha]

What, never read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy??

Don't be dense, and start making inflated strawman statements.

In my opinion, *most* people are mentally unstable in one way or another. Those that are more ego-centric, and either hear the call of a higher voice, or suffer from righteous indignation over inanities and really do think they can change things, are those that are going to end up running for office.

That's assuming that they're not just egomaniacs on power trips.

So yes, I do believe that only those that are mentally a bit 'off' in one way or another are going to be the ones that devote their lives to the acquisition of personal power. The really scary ones are those that do so in the name of 'the greater good'. Talk about delusional.

If holding that office isn't a stressful job, I don't know what is. If anti-depressants are required, great. Be thankful they're not anti-psychotics.

Although...

[Crusader]

Everyone should be on meds, that way I don't have to deal with a#@holes all day at work

'"President Bush is an untreated alcoholic with paranoid and megalomaniac tendencies,” Dr. Frank adds.'

Shouldn't that be "megalomaniacal"? I could be wrong, but that sounds better. But then again, who am I to correct a doctor.

[thegelding]

eh, i am serious...anybody that wants to be president is suspect in my opinion...and the people or person that would be really really good at being president (fair, strong, open minded, hard working) would never ever want that job...not much money, way too much exposure and risk....

i think we should have two elections...the visible, "give a speech, shake hands and kiss babies," president and the invisible, "work hard, think hard" president...we kinda have that now except the invisible president is very beholden to special interest...a true invisible president would alway balance and work for the best thing, not caring if it was pro this or anti that


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[curiousuburb]

Now if he ground them to a fine powder and snorted his meds...

[thegelding]

and chased it with a beer....

[dmz]

Originally Posted by curiousuburb Now if he ground them to a fine powder and snorted his meds...

Actually that gives me visions of Clinton snorting his Ritalin prescription at his desk in the Oval office---a la Al Pacino in Scareface.......drawling to Lewinski:

"Hey Baaaby, lemma intraduuuce ya 'ta mah little friend."

[LudwigVan]

Originally Posted by xionja He does have a history of falling off of things, no?

So did Gerald Ford.

[torifile]

1) Being on anti-depressants does not make you crazy
2) Megalomania is not treated by anti-depressants
3) There's nothing wrong with needing medication to help you
4) You should be in therapy if you need anti-depressants

I'm not a supporter of Bush by any means, but his use of medication for depression/anxiety does not make him unfit. I still won't vote for him, but there's no need to stigmatize him for using anti-depressants.

[Kickaha]

Hear hear.

[Messiahtosh]

Agreed.

[Powerdoc]

Originally Posted by torifile 1) Being on anti-depressants does not make you crazy 2) Megalomania is not treated by anti-depressants 3) There's nothing wrong with needing medication to help you 4) You should be in therapy if you need anti-depressants I'm not a supporter of Bush by any means, but his use of medication for depression/anxiety does not make him unfit. I still won't vote for him, but there's no need to stigmatize him for using anti-depressants.

Good post. But no cookies for you : you are a professional

[Luca]

I never thought I'd be defending Bush, but I think the "diagnosis" of "megalomaniacal tendencies" is BS. I don't know for sure because I am not a psychiatrist/psychologist, and I don't know if that's something that anyone could even be diagnosed with, but it sounds like something that has been spun up by a left-wing group of some kind.

Oh, I still think the man is a megalomaniac, but I don't think a psychiatrist would actually diagnose him with "megalomaniacal tendencies."

BTW, I loved the HHGTTG reference. The part describing how Zaphod became president of the galaxy was priceless.

[BRussell]

I sincerely doubt this is true. However, it got me thinking - if this was true, should it be made public? Usually, at least in the contemporary political world, the public is informed about medical conditions of the prez.

[thegelding]

we are overly concerned with the presidents physical condition ever since FDR hid his disease for soooo long...so we now get yearly updates on the presidents physical health....we haven't moved into getting the presidents mental health to be a matter of public record yet...kinda surprising since they hid reagan's poor mental health from the public soooo long and well...

mental health, or the lack thereof, scares this country...we consider it "weakness" so we tend to hide or ignore it

kinda sad


still, blowing up frogs is sick and twisted, and not in a good "oh, that girl last night was sic n' twisted baby" kind of way...


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